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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



Pioneers of the New World 



AND THE 



OLD FRENCH WAR 



WITH AN ACCOUNT OF VARIOUS INTERESTING CON- 
TEMPORANEOUS EVENTS WHICH OCCURRED 
IN THE EARLY SETTLEMENT 
OF AMERICA 



JOSEPH BANVARD, D. D. 





CHICAGO 

The Interstate Publishing Company 

BOSTON : 30 FRANKLIN STREET 



V 






COPYRIGHT BY 

D. LOTHROP & CO, 



PREFACE. 



The discovery of the New World by Chris- 
topher Columbus, and the glowing description 
which was given of it by Americus Vespucius, 
aroused the governments of Europe to a per- 
ception of the importance of forming settle- 
ments in these new domains, and thus, by vir- 
tue of the right of discovery, or when this could 
not be urged, then by priority of possession, ob- 
taining a title to some portions of its vast ter- 
ritory, which they might ever after hold as 
colonial dependencies. Accordingly, towns were 
built along its coast, and forts erected in the in- 
terior by subjects of different nations. As t'me 
rolled on, and enterprising pioneers pushed their 
explorations further from the original settle- 



VIU P R E F AC E . 

ments, they came in contact with each other. 
Then arose mutual accusations of trespassing 
beyond authorized limits. Collisions and wars 
were the consequence, until, after the expendi- 
ture of much treasure and blood, the Dutch and 
the French were subdued, and nearly the whole 
of North America came into the possession of 
the English. 

After this, the British Parliament, by a se- 
ries of indiscreet and oppressive acts, greatly 
irritated the colonies, and effectually alienated 
them from the mother country. The develop- 
ment of these facts, with an account of other 
cotemporaneous events of an interesting char- 
acter in the history of our country, and espe- 
cially in connection with Maryland, is the object 
of the present volume. 



%hi ut ^Uustratinns. 



L FRONTISPIECE 

II. ILLUSTRATED TITLE PAGE 

m. DOG HUNTING A STAG 86 

IV. ENCAMPING FOR THE WINTER 95 

V. INDIAN AMBUSH 150 

VL HENDRIOK AND THE STICKS 166 

VIL LANDING AT LOUIS BURG 182 

VIIL SEAR-CHING FOR THE DEAD 212 

IX. THE INDIAN WARRIOR 217 

X. ASCENDING THE HEIGHTS OF ABRAHAM 226 

XL HOOD RIDING IN EFFIGY 285 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

PAGI 

Painful Discovery— Keligious Dissensions— Persecutions overruled— 
The Baron of Baltimore— An impracticable Measure— The Threo 
Calverts-An Error-The " Ark" and "The Dove"-The Arrival at 
the New World— The Jesuit's Narrative— Pirates and Perils— In- 
trepid Captain-Yiolent Storm-Lights at Masthead— " The Dove« 
disappears-Perils and Prayers-Insurrection-Fears allayed-Boat 
Upset-Interview with the Natives-Their singular Opinions-An 
adopted Indian-A discreet Answer-English Policy-A Treaty .... 19 



CHAPTER II. 

A favorable Circumstance-First Buildings erected-An Indian hon- 
ored-Honor Misunderstood-A Gala-day-Imposing Ceremonies- 
Whites and Indians living together-Nature of the Soil-Prepared 
for Planting-Clayborne's Conduct— He is frustrated-He is conquer- 
ed and sent to England -His Deception there-His Trial and Its 
Results-Clayborne and Ingle -Govern or Calvert flees-Disorder 
prevails— Records lost— Session of the Assembly— Governor Hill— 

89 
Peculiarities 



Xll CONTENTS 



CHAPTER III. 

PAOI 

Colonists to scatter— Foresight of Lord Baltimore— Conditions of Land- 
grants — Special Instructions — Courts Baron and Co'.irts Leet — Their 
Uses — Eemnant of the Feudal Ages — Manors of Lands— Important 
Feature — Failure of the Aristocratic Element a Cause of Thanksgiv- 
ing 50 



CHAPTER lY. 

Erroneous Inferences — Religious Liberty — When it is Defective — Char- 
ter and Laws of Maryland — Conformity to the Ecclesiastical Laws of 
England — Union of Religion and civil Government — Religious Tol- 
eration — Reproachful Terms forbidden — Penalty for using them — 
Liberty limited — Oppressive Laws — The Difference in Rhode Island 
— Influence of Protestantism— Liberal Principles 54 



CHAPTER V. 

Law against Stealing One's self— Arbitrary Distinction— Influence of 
the Roman Catholic Priests— Importance of little Knowledge— Pecu- 
liar Law — Curious Definition of Drunkenness — Its Penalty — Law 
enjoining Fasting — Laws respecting Tobacco and Corn — Corn to bo 
twice shaken— Corn Haad-mills— Water-mill Tax— Saw-mill des- 
troyed in London— Reasons for Indian Fears— Ancient Feuds among 
the Indians— Indian Opinions- Collision with the Indians— Warlika 
Preparations — The Maquantequats — The Patuxent Indians — They 
are reconciled and protected 



CONTENTS. Xm 



CHAPTER YI. 

PAGH 

Colonies multiplied— Captain Lucas Fox— His Voyage to the North- 
ern Regions — Dangers from the Ice — How Ice bergs are formed— 
Description of a Sea Unicorn — Variation of the Needle — Eeasons for 
it— Geological Discovery — A White Bear floating upon Ice — Its Pur- 
suit and Capture — Petty Dancers — Hunting Swans and Seals- 
Graves Discovered— Dog hunting a Stag— School of Whales— A Dun 
Fox— Remains of Captain Button's dwellings— Going a Berrying— 
A Cross found — Seeking a Main yard — The Maria met with — Cap- 
tain Fox names various Places — Fox's Return W 



CHAPTER YII. 

Captain James sails for the North— His trying Position— He is Frozen 
in — James's Ignorance — Danirers to which it leads — Encamping foi 
the Winter— Peculiar Featares of a northern Winter — The Scurvy 
— Its Symptoms— Eflfects of Extreme Cold — Difliculty of Working 
—Thawing Trees — Medical Treatment— A singular Phenomenon — 
Finding the Rudder— Disappointment — Difflculties multiplied— Sick 
recovering — Homeward Departure — False Facts. 



CHAPTER YII I. 

De Groslie — Information from the Ottowas— Hunters and Trappers— 
De Vries's Voyage— Smelling the Land— A Dreadful Scene— Its Per- 
petrators unknown— The Particulars— Effects of Confidence— Indian 



XIV CONTENTS. 

PAoa 

Treachery and Revenge— Peace concluded — Beans wanted — Startling 

Intelligence— Boat's Crew murdered — A suspicious Circumstance — 
Chiefs Visit— Gifts given and refused— A Peach-tree found— Inter- 
view with the English— Seven Whales taken— "Whaling unprofit- 
able loa 



CHAPTER IX. 

Gustavus Adolphus — His Plans of Emigration— A War defeats them— 
Deception of the Swedish Governor— Fort Casimer taken by Treach- 
ery — Governor Stuy vesant attacks Delaware — Army of Seven Hun- 
dred — Stuyvesant's triumphant Advance — He conquers Delaware'^ 
Eumors of a silver Mountain — An Indian brings Ore — He is assas- 
sinated—The English conquer the Dutch— Children stolen by the 
Savages— Their Redemption-price in Tobacco— Commercial Regula- 
tions— The Famous Navigation Act. 12C 



CHAPTER X. 

A remarkable Fact— Political Troubles— Seizure of Arms and Ammu- 
nition—Resisting Authority— The Governor's Protest — A noble 
Resolution — ^A Boat seized— Terrific Threatenings— A Council of 
War — The " Golden Lyon" — A deceptive Trick— Stone fired upon— 
A Battle— The Victory— The Prisoners— The first Account sent 
home — Reconciliation between Prrotestants and Catholics 129 



CONTENTS. . XV 



CHAPTEE XI. 

PAGB 

Peace and Prosperity — A great Country— Its Possession desirable — 
Origin of tlie French "War— Chain of Forts — Preparation for a Cam- 
paign — Franklin's Patriotism— Braddock's Arrival— George Wash- 
ington becomes Braddock's Aid-de-Camp — "Washington sick — A 
"Wagon his Hospital— March of the Army— A beautiful Sight— An 
Invisible, terrible Foe— Indian Ambush surprises the Army — "Wash- 
ington's Perils and Escapes— The Killed and Wounded— Singular 
Interview between Washington and an Indian — The Indian's Story 
His Reverence for Washington c 142 



CHAPTER XII. 

Cavages offer their Services— The Offer unwisely rejected— Washing- 
ton's Fame- Davies's Allusion to him Prophetic — Thirst for Blood — 
The Moravians attacked — Dreadful State of Things— A marvelous 
Escape— Scalp lost— Great Panic— Eeward of ten Pounds for an In- 
dian's Scalp 168 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Design of the French— Crown Point — Johnson and the Indian Chief 
llendrick — Baron Dieskau — Indian Mode of numbering — Indian 
Battle — An eloquent Indian Chief— Important military Principle- 
Effects of Delay — Battle of Lake George— Death of Baron Dieskau — 
Retreat of the French— Effect of the Victory— Johnson highly 
honored— His selfish Meanness..— A new Principle 164 



XVI - CONTENTS, 



CHAPTER XI Y. 

PAoa 

Marquis de Montcalm — Forts at Oswego — Violent Midnight Attack — 

Fort Ontario taken — Colonel Mercer killed — No aid to be obtained 
— ^The English capitulate to the Fi'euch — Terms of Capitulation 
shamefully violated — Montcalm destroys the Forts — Lord Loudon's 
Expedition — Montcalm's Barbarity — Munro's sad Discovery — The 
English yield to Montcalm — Terms of Capitulation — Wilfull Decep- 
tion—Indignation of the Savages— Their horrid Cruelties — Effects 
of the Fall of Fort "William Henry— The Massacre attributed to 
Liquor. 174 



CHAPTER XV. 

Pitt favors Liberty— Three important Expeditions— Attack upon 
Louisburg— Landing in a Storm — Brave Attack and Defense — Ameri- 
can Gibraltar— Bombardment— The City taken— Great Joy in 
England— Soldier's Wit— Disappointment in France— French com- 
mander degraded— Montcalm at Ticonderoga — His Intrenchments 
— Abercrombie on Lake George— A Battle in the Woods— Lord 
Howe slain— Assault of Ticonderoga— The Repulse— English want 
Cannon— Disheartening Effects 1' 



CHAPTER XYI. 

Activity of the French— Attempt to intercept them— Injudicious 
Spoi-tr-A Skirmish the Consequence— Putnam a Prisoner to the 



CONTENTS. ^tVU 



PAQB 



Indiatis-Is tied to a Tree to be burned-His Thoughts-His De- 
liverance-Colonel Bradstreefs rroposition-The Expedition against 
Fort i'rontinac-State of Tilings at Oswego-Attack upon Frontinac 
-Indian Desertors-Frontinac taken-Manitions of War obtained- 
Armed Vessels seized-The Fort levoled-English encouraged.... 198 



CHAPTER XVII. 

L new Expedition against Duquesne-A new Eoad proposed-Wash- 
Ington opposes it-The Decision -Washington requests to be in the 
Front of the Army-Grant's Folly-Unexpected Attack-Injudicious 

Conduct of the Highlanders-Panic of the Pennsylvanians-Method 
of the Marylanders-Conduct of Washington-Grant, a Prisoner- 
Council of War-Going into Winter Quarters-Loyal Hannlng- 
Another Fight-Sad Mistake-Indian PoUcy-Indian Deserters- 
Provincials the best Soldiers-Fort Duquesne taken-Name altered 
to Fort Pitt— Pay of the Soldiers ^^* 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Indian Deputations-An affecting Duty-Searching for the Dead- 
A singular Incident-Dreadful Mementoes-Tragic Scenes-Battle 
of Niagara-French Defeated-Surrender of the Garrison-No Ee- 
taliatirn-Captive Soldiers sent to Albany-Women and Children 
sent to Quebec-French Communication between Canada and Lou- 
Isiana destroyed 

2* 



XVUl CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

PAQH 

Situation of Quebec— Its strong Defenses— Montcalm's Army — His 
Military arrangements — A Fleet of Fire-ships — How they are dis- 
posed of— Batteries erected— Terrififi Fire-stages — Battle of Mont- 
morency — Ill-judged Assault— The English repulsed — The French fire 
upon the Wounded and the Dead — Their Apology for this Cruelty — 
General "Wolfe sick — A perilous Project — Wolfe approves it — Its 
great Difficulties— Courageous Midnight Adventure — Heights oi 
Abraham gained — Preparations for Battle — Position of the two 
Armies — Battle on the Heights— "Wolfe's Death in Victory — The 
French Defeated — Death of Montcalm — Quebec taken by the En- 
glish. 2Jg 



CHAPTER XX. 

Oppressive Acts of the British Parliament— American Opposition to 
them — ^Famous Stamp Act — Its Design — Its Effect In Maryland — The 
Maryland Gasette— Treatment of Zechariah Hood — Stamped Paper 
not allowed to be landed — A ridiculous Ceremony — Hood whipped 
and burned in Effigy — Popular Feeling more powerful than Govern- 
ment — The Times doleful and dollarless — Stamp Act repealed 1 



CHAPTER XXI. 

Arrival of a New Governor— Burning of Tea— The Destruction of the 
Totness— Naval Engagement— Arrival of Lord Howe— Battle of Long 
Island— Trenton Taken— Princeton Seized— The Affair of Brandywine 
— Battle of Germantown — Valley Forge— Savannah Attacked— Battle 
of Camden— Cowpens-Eutaw Springs ! 



TRAGIC SCENES. 



CHAPTER I. 

Painful Discovery — Eeligious Dissensions — Persecutions Over-ruled — Tb6 
Baron of Baltimore — An Impracticable Measure — The Three Calvcrts— 
An Error — " The Ark" and " The Dove"— Arrival at the New World — 
Jesuit's Narrative — Pirates and Perils — Intrepid Captain — Violent Storm 
— Lights at Mast-head — " The Dove" disappears — Perils and Praj-ers — 
Insurrection—Fears allayed — Boat Upset — Interview with Natives — 
Their singular Opinions — An adopted Indian — A discreet Answer- 
English Policy— A Treaty. 

The first explorers and settlers of this country 
experienced difficulties, and passed through perils, 
which are not easy for us, in our circumstances of 
safety, fully to appreciate. In a new world ; with 
a climate to which they were unaccustomed ; sur- 
rounded by barbarous tribes; wdthout dwellings, 
and with no lands prepared for cultivation, they 
were, at times, placed in circumstances of extreme 
perplexity. The dveceitful and jealous savages were 
to be closely watched; the severities of winter 
were to be guarded against; forests to be felled 



20 RELIGIOUS DISSENSIONS. 

and converted into timber; suitable houses to be 
reared, and lands cleared and prepared for the 
plow. 

Then, at a later period, after the colonies were 
permanently established, misunderstandings ensued 
between them, which resulted in war. The mother 
countries, to which these colonies belonged, sym- 
pathized with them, and took part in a contest that 
furnished many tragic scenes. Some of the more 
important of these scenes, together with interesting 
incidents which occurred about the same time, in 
the explorations made by adventurous navigators 
along the coast and rivers, will be described in the 
following pages. 

In the contemplation of the history of the past, 
there are few things that awaken iVLore painful 
emotions than the discovery of the bitter hostility 
which existed between different denominations of 
professed Christians, and the cruel methods by 
which that hostility was developed. 

After the discovery of Xorth America by the 
Cabotg, when its fertile valleys and boundless prai- 
ries were under the dominion of barbarous tribes of 
Indians, the civilized nations of Europe were con- 
vulsed with internal dissensions. Different classes 
of religionists were arrayed in bitter animosity 
against each other. They were not satisfied with 
the privilege of receiving and practicing whatevei 



EFFECTS OF PERSECUTION. 21 

they believed to be in accordance with tlie will of 
God. Each was anxious that all others should 
receive his creed, and conform to his ritual; and 
as, in accordance with the vicissitudes of the times, 
one party or the other obtained the reins of govern- 
ment, did they use their power to coerce others to 
the adoption of their views. If this was not eifected 
by mild discipline, more stringent measures were 
used. Hence the severe enactments which were 
passed by different administrations against opposite 
sections of the Christian Church. At one time, 
puritanism, at another time, episcopacy and Catholi- 
cism were made to suffer. 

It is interesting to observe how the exhibition of 
the unlovely elements of human nature in this exer- 
cise of spiritual despotism, was over ruled, so as to 
promote civil and religious freedom. The cruelties 
to which different classes of Christians were sub- 
jected in the Old World, on account of their relig- 
ious opinions, were the reasons of their flight to the 
New. As they desired to go where they would not 
be molested for their opinions ; where fines and con- 
fiscations, prisons and tortures, would not be the 
reward of their adherence to what they conscienti- 
ously believed to be truth ; and as the newly-discov- 
ered continent, situated three thousand miles from 
their own land, seemed to offer them the safest 
asylum, they naturally looked to that as the place 



22 GEORGE CALVERT. 

of their retreat. It was in this manner that the 
iron hand of despotism scattered tlie seed of which 
our free institutions are the fruit. 

Religious persecution was the immediate cause 
of the fliglit of the Puritans to Xew Enghmd, and 
of the Roman Catholics to Maryland. 

George Calvert, a distinguished Papist, who was 
highly esteemed by King James — from whom lie 
received the title of Lord Baron of Baltimore in the 
kingdom of Ireland — attempted to establish a colony 
of Roman Catholics in Newfoundland. When ex- 
perience convinced him of its impracticability, he 
turned his attention to the more favorable climate 
of Virginia, of which he had heard the most glow- 
ing accounts. Being very coolly received by the 
colony already established there, he conceived the 
idea of forming a settlement on Chesapeake Bay, 
somewhere above the river Potomac. 

As the charter of the London Company, under 
which the colonies in Virginia had been established, 
was dissolved, the king assumed the right of re- 
granting such parts of the territories of Vir2:inia as 
had not been parceled out into small portions to 
particular individuals. It was not difficult, there- 
fore, for Lord Baltimore, who stood high in royal 
estimation, to obtain the promise of such a portion 
as he described to his majesty. But before the 
patent could be diawn up and receive the seals of 



LEONARD CALVERT. 2S 

office, Lord Baltimore died. His eldest son, Cecil- 
his, was, by the laws of England, heir to the title 
and the estate of his father. To him the patent of 
lands in America, designed for his fiither, was exe- 
cuted. The portion of country which was embraced 
in this patent, or charter, was intended to haA^e 
been called Crescentia, but, at the suggestion of the 
king, it was changed to Maryland, in honor of his 
queen, Henrietta Maria. 

Cecilius Calvert, who was now called Lord Bal- 
timore, went zealously to work to hunt up colonists, 
and prepare conveniences for them to remove to the 
New World. Impediments were thrown in his way 
by the Virginia Company, who seem to have sup- 
posed that the lands which they had obtained and 
cultivated, were about to be taken from them, and 
assigned to this new company. But this error being 
corrected, and certain orders in council being passed, 
which were binding upon both of the colonies, and 
designed for their equal benefit. Lord Baltimore 
was enabled to proceed in making the necessary 
arrangements for the new settlement. 

It was the original intention of Baltimore to have 
come to Maryland with his colony, but this he sub- 
sequently abandoned, and appointed his brother, 
Leonard Calvert, Esq., to go in his place ; whom he 
also made Governor for the administration of the 
afiairs. With him Avere associated Jeremy Hawley 



24 THE AKRIVAL. 

and Thomas Cornwallis, Esqs., as assistants, oi 
counsellors. 

Calvert succeeded in awakening sufficient interest 
to induce about two hundred, among whom were 
persons of fortune and rank, to unite ^^ith liim in 
the enterprise, the most of whom were Roman 
Catholics. All things being ready, the emigrants 
set sail from Cowes, in the Isle of Wight, on 
Friday the 22d day of November, in the year of 
our Lord 1633. They embarked in two vessels, 
one a ship called " The Ark," and the other a small 
pinnace called "The Dove." Taking the course to 
America which, in those early times, was usually 
pursued, by the Azores and the West Indies, 
they stopped at the islands of St. Christopher's, 
and Barbadoes, where they lingered some time, 
probably, because they did not want to come upon 
the coast of North Amei'ica in an unpropitious 
season of the year, when the attempt to establish 
a settlement and build a town would be attended 
with great inconveniences, and perhaps painful 
privations. In consequence of these delays, they 
did not reach Virginia until the 24th of February, 
at which time they arrived at Point Comfort. 

As a nari-ative of that voyage, written by one of 
the company, has come down to us, we cannot do 
better than to give a considerable portion of it in 
the language of the writer himself. The author is 



DET.AYS AND DANGERS. 25 

Father Andrew Wliite, a Jesuit Missionary, who 
accompanied these first settlers to Maryland, and 
who wrote an account of the voyage in Latin, 
which account is among the archives of the Jesuits 
at Rome, from which the following extracts were 
translated.* 

"On the 22d of November, being St. Cecilia's 
day, under the gentle influence of an eastern 
wind, we dropped down from the Isle of Wight. 
Having placed our ship under the protection of 
God, the Blessed Virgin Mother, St. Ignatius, and 
all the guardian angels of Maryland, we had pro- 
gressed but a short distance, when we were obliged, 
for the want of wind, to cast anchor ofiTthe fortress 
of Yarmouth, where we were welcomed by a salute. 
While here, we were not without some apprehensions 
from our sailors, who began to murmur among 
themselves, alleging that they expected a messenger 
from land with letters ; and because none arrived, 
they seemed disposed to create delays. A kind 
Providence put an end to our fears ; for during the 
night a strong, but favorable, wind sprang up, and 
our pinnace,f which apprehended an attack from a 
French brig that kept within a short distance of 
her, took advantage of the wind and put to sea. 

* Annals of Annapolis. 

f The pinnace appears to have been a sloop of about fortv 
tons, called "The Dove." 
3 



26 VIOLENT STORM. 

We, not willing to lose sight of her, followed her 
with all speed, and thus frustrated the evil designs 
of our sailors. This was on the night of St. Clem- 
ent's day, the 23d of November. On the next 
morning, about ten o'clock, after receivmg a second 
salute from the fort at Hurst, w^e were carried 
beyond the breakers at the extremity of the Isle of 
Wight; and narrowly escaped being driven on 
shore. Taking advantage of a strong fair wind on 
that day and the next night, we left the western 
point of England, slacking sail, lest, running ahead 
of the pinnace, she might flill into the hands of 
the pirates and Turks, who then infested these 
seas. On the 24:th of November, we made great 
headway until evening, when a violent storm arose, 
and our sloop, being diffident of its strength, being 
only of forty tons burden, hove to, and informed us 
that, in case of danger, she would carry lights at 
her mast-head. We were in a well-built ship* of 
four hundred tons, as strong as iron and wood could 
make her, and our captain was one of great experi- 
ence. The storm was so violent that we gave him 
the choice of returning to England, or pursuing the 
voyage. His intrepidity and confidence in the un- 
tiied powers of his ship, induced him to choose the 
latter. But in the middle of the night, in a boiling 

* "The Ark." 



CATHOLIC DEVOTION. 27 

sea, we saw our sloop at a sliort distance from us, 
showing two lights at her mast-head. Then, indeed, 
did we fear for her, and in losing sight of her we all 
supposed she had been swallowed up in the stormy 
sea. Six weeks elapsed before we again heard 
from her. But God had preserved her. Fearing 
that she could not survive the storm, she changed 
her course, and took refuge in the Scilly Isles. She 
afterwards sailed in pursuit of us, and we met at 
the Antihes. On the 27th and the 28th we 
made but little progress. On Friday, 29th, a 
most dreadful storm arose, that made the most 
fearless men tremble for the result. Among the 
Catholics, however, it made prayer more frequent ; 
vows were offered in honor of the Blessed Virgin 
Mother, and her immaculate concej^tion, of 
St. Ignatius, the patron saint of Maryland, St. 
Michael and all the guardian angels. Each one 
prayed earnestly to expiate his sins through the 
sacrifice of penance. For, having unshipped her 
rudder, our vessel was tossed about at the mercy 
of the winds and waves. At first I feared that the 
loss of our ship and death awaited me. But after 
spending some time in prayer, and having declared 
to the Lord Jesus, and to his Holy Mother, St. 
Ignatius, and the protecting angels of Maryland, 
that the purpose of this voyage was to pay honor 
to the blood of our Redeemer, by the conversion 



28 unn:ecessary fears. 

of barbarians, I arose with a firm confidence that 
through the mercy and goodness of God, we 
should e;scape the dangers that seemed to threaten 
our destruction. I liad bowed myself down in 
prayer during the greatest rage of the tempest, 
and, let the true God be glorified ! scarcely had I 
finished, before the storm was ceasing. 

" I felt myself imbued with a new spirit, and 
overspread with a flood of joy and admiration at 
the benevolence of God to the people of Maryland, 
to whom we were sent. Blessed forever be the mer- 
ciful charities of our dear Redeemer. The remain- 
der of the voyage, which lasted three months, was 
prosperous. Our captain aflSrmed that he never 
witnessed a more pleasant and happy one. The 
period of three months included the time we spent 
at the island of the Antilles, but we were, in fact, 
only seven weeks and two days at sea. In sailing 
along the Spanish coasts we were apprehensive of 
falling into the hands of the Turks, but we never 
met them. Having passed the Pillars of Hercules 
and the Madeira Islands, w^e were able to scud 
before the wind with full sail. The winds are not 
variable in those regions, but always blow in a 
south-west direction, which was our exact course. 
At the distance of about three leagues from us, we 
descried three sail of vessels, the smallest of which 
appeared to be larger than ours. Fearing they 



EXTORTION. 29 

were Turkish pirates, we were careful to avoid 
them, thougli we prepared our vessel for action. 
But as they showed no disposition to engage us, 
we concluded they were merchantmen, bound for 
the Fortunate Islands, and as much afraid of us as 
we wei-e of them. * * * During the 

entire v^oyage no person was attacked with any 
disease — except that at Christmas, wine having 
been freely distributed in honor of that festival, 
several drank of it immoderately ; thirty persons 
were seized with a fever the next morning, of 
whom twelve died shortly after; of these, two were 
Catholics, namely, Nicholas Fairfax and James 
Barefoot." 

The course which was pnrsued by the voyagers 
was, as we have stated, by the Azores and Barba- 
does. They landed at the latter place on the 5th 
of January, 1634, new style. Here, Father White 
says that the governor and inhabitants, who were 
English, endeavored to extort unreasonable prices 
for provisions and other necessary articles. One 
exception was made in potatoes, which were so 
abundant that they received a wagon-load as a 
present. The slaves, at that time upon the island, 
were in a state of rebellion, and had determined to 
take possession of the first vessel that should arrive. 
But their plot being discovered, the ringleadera 
were taken and executed. As " The Ark" was the 



80 EARLY NAMES. 

first vessel that arrived, she was the doomed prize ; 
and on the very day that her eompaiiy hiiided, 
eiglity men, whom they tbimd under arms, pre- 
vented the slaves from exeeuting their designs, 
lieas ing Barbadoes they passed St. Lueia, GuadiV 
loupe, Montserrat, to St. Christopher's, where they 
spent ten days. 

" Having, at length, w^eighed anchor hence," con- 
tinues Father "White, " we pursued our voyage 
until we reached a point, on the coast of Virginia, 
called * Comfort,' on the 27th of February. We 
were in a good deal of dread from the unfriend- 
liness of the English inhabitants of Vii'ginia — to 
\Ahom our colony had boen an unwelcome theme. 
We brought, however, letters from the king, 
and the high constable of England, to the 
governor of the province, which contributed very 
much to appease their feelings, and to procure us 
future advantages. After receiving kind treatment 
for nine or ten days, we set sail, and on the 
od of March, having arrived in the Chesapeake 
Bay, we tacked to the north to reach the Potomac 
river, to wliich we gave the name of St. Gregory. 
We called the point which stands on the south, St. 
Gregory ;* that on the north, St. Michael's,! in 
honor of the choir of angels. A larger and more 

* Smith's Point. f Point Lookout 



BOAT UPSET. 31 

beautiful stream I never have seen. The Thames, 
compared with it, is but a rivulet. Bounded on 
the sides with no marshes, it runs between sohd and 
rising banks. On either side are splendid forests, 
not overgrown by weeds or briars ; you might 
drive a four-horse carriage, with the reins loose in 
your hand, through them. We found the natives 
armed, at the very mouth of the river. That night 
lires were blazing throughout the country, and as 
they had never seen so large a ship as ours, mes- 
seno-ers were sent around to announce the arrival 
of a ca?ioe as large as an island, and numbering as 
many men as the trees in a forest. We passed on 
to the Heron Islands, so called from immense flocks 
of those birds. We touched at the first of them, 
which we called St. Clement's, on which, owing to 
its sloping banks, we could only land by fording. 
Here the maids, who had landed to w^ash the 
clothes, were almost drowned by the upsetting of 
the boat ; I lost a large portion of my Hnen — no 
small loss in this part of the world. This island 
abounds in cedar-trees, sassafras, and all those herbs 
and flowers entering into the class of salads ; and 
the walnut-tree, with a heavy shell, and a small, but 
very delicious kernel. A scope of four hundred 
acres did not appear sufticient for our new j^lanta. 
tion. We desired a place which might preclude 
the commerce of the river to strangers, and also 



52 ERECTIXG THE CIIOSS. 

the possibility of their infringing on our boundaries. 
This was tlie most narrow crossing of the river. 
On the day of tlie Annunciation of the B. V. Mary 
(25th of Marcli), we tirst ottered the sacrifice of the 
mass, never before done in this region of the world. 
After which, having raised on our shoulders an im- 
mense cross, which we had fashioned from a tree, and 
going in a procession to the designated spot, assisted 
by the governor,* commissary, and other Catholics, 
we erected the trophy of Christ the Saviour, and 
humbly bent the knee in reverence during the 
devout recitation of the litany of the holy cross. 
Our governor, however, havhig understood that 
the great chief of Piscataway was obeyed by many 
petty chiefs, determined to visit him, to explain the 
objects of our coming, that, having conciliated his 
good-will our settlement might be more favorably 
regarded by the rest. Having, therefore, joined to 
our piimace another, which he had procured in 
Virginia, and leaving the ship at anchor off St. 
Clements, retracing his course, he sailed up the 
southern bank of the river. Finding the savages 
had fled into the interior, he proceeded to the 
village, which, taking its name from the river, is 
yet called Potomac. Here he found Archihu, the 
uncle and tutor of the king, who was yet a boy. 

^"- Leonard Calvert 



PKPJACIIIXG TO THE INDIANS. 33 

The regency was in prudent and experienced liands. 
Father Altharn who accompanied the governor (for 
I was detained with the baggage), explained, by 
means of an interpreter, the truths of the Christian 
religion. The chief listened to him willingly, after 
acknowledging his own faults. Being informed 
that no hostile motives had brought us among 
them, but that feelings of benevolence prompted us 
to impart to them the advantages of civilization, 
and to open the path of heaven to them, and to the 
more distant regions, he expressed himself not only 
well satisfied, but very grateful at our arrival. The 
interpreter was from the Protestants of Virginia. 
As the father could not explain every thing at once, 
he promised to return in a short time. ' I think,' 
said Archihu, ' that we should aU eat of the same 
table ; my young men will visit the hunting-grounds 
for you, and all things shall be in common with us.' 
From hence we went to Piscataway, where all im- 
mediately flew to arms. About one ynm(h"ed armed 
men with bows, were drawn up with their chief at 
their head. On learning our pacific intentions, lay- 
ing aside his fears, the chief stepped into the pin- 
nace, and on understanding our benevolent views 
in their regard, gave us liberty to settle in any part 
of his kingdom we might select. In the mean time, 
while the governor was on his journey to the em- 
peror, the savages at St. Clement's becoming more 
2* 



34 AN ENGLISH INDIAN. 

bold, mixed familiarly with our sentries. We were 
accustomed to keep up a patrol day and night, to 
protect our woodcutters and our vessel, which was 
now undergoing repairs, from any sudden attack. 
The natives expressed their surprise at the size of 
our vessel, and wondered what part of the earth 
produced a tree large enough to make such a boat. 
For they thought that it, like an Indian canoe, was 
hewn out of the trunk of a single tree. The report 
of our cannon struck them dumb with fear." 

To his surprise, Calvert discovered here an En- 
glishman, Captain Henry Fleet, who had become so 
enamored of the customs and modes of life of these 
uncivilize-d creatures, that he had resided among 
them for several years. During this period he 
seems to have conducted himself with so much 
discretion, as to have secured the general respect 
and confidence of his adopted friends. 

The governor invited the chief of this people to 
visit him on board his vessel. He, at first, was un- 
willing to place himself so far in the power of these 
pale-faced strangers, but through the intercession 
of Captain Fleet, he finally consented. This shows 
that he placed considerable reliance upon the judg- 
ment and fidelity of Fleet. Otherwise he would 
not have committed himself into the han Is of 
Fleet's countryman. 

Although the king of England, by charter, had 



A DISCREET REPLY. 35 

granted this country to Lord Baltimore and \iia 
company, yet his biV)ther, whom we have seen lie 
appointed governor, did not regard this as extin- 
guishing the rights of the original inhabitants. 
Hence, one of the first questions he asked of this 
native lord of the soil was, whether he would con- 
sent to the English settling m his territory in case 
they fomid a locality that pleased them. The 
chief discreetly answered, " I will not hid you go, 
neither will I bid you stay, but you may use your 
own discretion." By this shrewd, non-committal, 
reply he threw the whole responsibility of their 
decision and course of action upon the English 
themselves. 

As the chief remained on board the boat longer 
than his followers expected, they began to fear 
that he was detained there against his will, or that, 
perhaps, he was slain. They therefore came down 
to the shore in large numbei-s to ascertain the facts. 
As the chief was out of sight, their fears were in 
creased, and nothmg would pacify them, imtil he 
made his appearance. * 

As it seemed to the governor undesirable to 
attempt the establishment of a colony so fir up the 
river, he retraced his course to St. Clement's 
Island. He was accompanied on his return by 
Captain Fleet. 

He next proceeded to a small river Avhich emp 



36 THE YOAMACOES. 

tied iiito the Potomac on the north side, and which 
Calvert named St. George's, but which has smce 
received the more permanent name of St. Mary's 
River. After saiUng up this stream about twelve 
miles, he came to an Indian town, known in the 
native dialect as Yoamaco. It was inhabited by a 
tribe called, from the name of their city, Yoama- 
coes. As these Indians had experienced much 
trouble from their more ^^owerful neighbors, the 
Susquehannas, they were contemplating a re- 
moval to a place where they hoped to be secure 
from their encroachments. Indeed, some had 
already left for that purpose. In a few days all 
the wigwams which composed the town would be 
forsaken. 

After Calvert landed, he frankly informed the 
Werowance, as the chief was called, that he was in 
search of a suitable place to establish a colony, and 
asked hhn his opinion. The Werowance manifested 
the usual Indian characteristic — taciturnity — and 
said but little. He, probably, did not want these 
strangers to settle there, and at the same time did 
not wish to offend them by an expression of his 
feelings. He, however, gave a hospitable reception 
to the governor ; invited him into his cabin ; enter- 
tained him kindly, and at night relinquished to him 
his own bed to sleep on. It is not unlikely that by 
the interview, a tavorable impression was made 



A TEEAPY. 37 

upon the raind of the chief, for the next day he 
vohmtarily sliowed Calvert the country, who deter- 
mined to select this as the place of his first settle- 
ment. After coming to this decision, it was his 
policy to pursue such a course as to gahi the con- 
sent of the Werowance and his followers. He, 
therefore, manifested toward them the greatest 
friendship. To the chief, and some of his principal 
braves and counselors he made presents of English 
cloth, axes, hoes and knives. As these were articles 
which they could not make, and were yet of great 
Bervice, they accepted them with evident marks of 
pleasure. 

The consequence of this friendly manifestation on 
the part of the English was, that they secured the 
consent of the Indians to take up their residence 
among them immediately; and, to furnish them 
with something like suitable accommodations, they 
cheerfully offered to vacate the huts hi one part of 
the town for their present use, with the promise, 
that so soon as they had harvested their corn, they 
would relinquish to them the whole town. It was 
further agreed upon, that until that time, the two 
parties should live together on terms of friendship, 
and that each nation should make suitable amends 
for any injury which any of their own people might 
inflict upon the other's. 

After this treaty was agreed upon, Calvert sent 



38 ORDERS. 

orders to the men wlio were in his ships and boats, 
which had probably remained at St. Clements, to 
come to him; and on the 27th of Marcli, 1634, 
they disembarked, and took possession of the town, 
to which they gave the name of St. JVIary'g. 



CHAPTER II, 

A favorable Circumstance— First Buildings erected— An Indian honored— 
The Honor misunderstood— A Gala-day — Imposing Ceremonies- 
Whites and Indians living together — Nature of the Soil — Prepared for 
Planting— Cla> borne's Conduct— He ii frustrated— He is conquered, 
and sent to England — His Deception there— His Trial and its Results — 
Clayborne and Ingle — Governor Calvert flees— Disorder prevails— 
Eecords lost — Session of the Assembly— Governor Hill — Peculiarities. 

It was an extremely favorable circumstance for 
Calvert's colony that the Yoamacoes were on the 
eve of abandonmg then- town, at the time of their 
arrival, as it furnished them with dwellings of quite 
a comfortable character, which they might occupy 
until they could erect others more congenial to their 
tastes, and better suited to their wants. They 
answered, at least, for a shelter from the heat, and a 
covert from the storm. Far diiferent had it been 
with the colonies of Virginia and Massachusetts. 
If the Pilgrims who landed on Plymouth Rock, had 
been so successful as to have found empty dwellings 
ready for their reception, they would have regarded 
It as a special i^rovidence : and it would have been 
m perfect keeping with their habits, if they had 
kept a day of special thanksgiving for so great a 



40 AN INDIAN IIONOKED 

mercy. The incident would have been liehl in con- 
stant remembrance, by tlieir descendants, and re- 
peated, at least yearly, in some of their many 
addresses on the lite and labors of their ancestors. 

After the landing of the colonists at St. Mary's, 
they proceeded immediately to the erection of two 
buildings, in one of which to store their food and 
merchandise, and the other to use as a fort for de- 
fense. 

They had not been there long before they were 
favored with a friendly visit from Sir John Harvey, 
the governor of the infant colonies of Virginia. 
This seems to intimate that he did not sympathize 
very strongly with the opposition which had been 
made by some of the Virginians to Calvert's set- 
tling in Maryland. During Harvey's stay at St. 
Mary's, Calvert was visited by several Indian chiefs, 
among whom was the Werowance of Patuxent, who 
had previously passed some time in imprisonment 
among the English in Virginia. For the gratifica- 
tion of these chiefs, Calvert gave an entertainment 
on board the ship. 

In the arrangements at dinner, a seat of honor 
was assigned to the Patuxent chief at the table, be- 
tween the governors of Maryland and Virginia. If 
this had been understood, it would have been re- 
garded as a mark of great distinction, and would 
have affoixled a high degree of satisfaction to the 



IMPOSING CEREMONIES. 41 

natives. But the design of the courtesy was 
strangely misunderstood, and came near converting 
this social entertainment into a painful tragedy. 
One of the Patuxent Indians, who came on board 
the ship, as he looked in the cabin, and saw his chief 
placed between the two governors, received the im- 
pression that he was detained there as a prisoner, 
and carefully guarded, by the English. He was so 
incensed at this supposed treason, that he not only 
refused to enter the cabin, but would have plunged 
overboard to escape similar treatment himself, if 
the chief had not left his position, come on deck, 
and convinced him of his mistake. 

When the store-house was completed^ and it be- 
came necessary to remove the cargo from the 
vessel into the newly-erected building, the governor 
thought it desirable that it should be done with as 
much of pomp and public parade as they could dis- 
play, in order to excite the surprise, and secure the 
respect and reverence of the savages. Accordingly 
the occasion was converted into a kind of gala-day. 
The flags were brought ashore, to wave their rich 
and variegated colors in the flashing sun-light. The 
guns were taken from the armory of the vessel, for 
the equipment of the men. The colonists wxre 
drawn up in military array. The two chiefs of 
Patuxent and Yoamaco, with many other natives, 
occupied llivorable positions for hearing and seemg 
4^* 



/ 

/ 



42 EEMARKABLE SPEECH. 

every tiling that was said and done. All things 
being ready, the word of command was given, and 
immediately the musketry poured forth a volley, 
which fell upon the ears of the wondering savages, 
like the crashing of a forest before the blast. 
Scarcely had the sound died away, before the 
vessel in the river was seen to pour forth from the 
holes in her sides, streams of fire and smoke, ac- 
companied with reports like thunder. This being 
done repeatedly, was adapted to impress the 
Indians with the wonderful knowledge and power 
of the white men, and probably accomplished the 
object which Calvert had in view. The Patuxent 
chief, who, during his imprisonment among the 
English, had probably witnessed other exhibitions 
of their skill and power, took this occasion to 
advise the Yoamaco Indians to keep on good terms 
with them, and by all means not to violate theii- 
treaty of amity. 

This chief remained at St. Mary's several days, 
and it is reported that, when he left the governor, 
he made this remarkable speech: "I love the 
English so well that if they should go about to 
kill me, if I had breath enough to speak, I would 
command the people not to revenge my death, for 
I know they would not do such a thing except it 
were through my own fault." 

So judicious was the policy of Calv<M*t in his 



LIVING TOGETHER. 43 

treatment of the Indians, that he secnred their con- 
fidence, so that during the remainder of the year, 
the two nations Uved togetlier in the greatest har- 
mony. They joined each other in the chase, and 
when the Indians were more successful in hunting 
01* fishing than the EngUsh, they readily parted 
with their game for some trifling articles, as knives 
or beads, and in this manner kept their new visitors 
well supplied with fresh food. They even went so 
far in the exhibition of their confidence in these 
wdiite strangers, as to allow their women and chil- 
dren to labor as domestics in their families. The 
women taught them how to make bread of their 
corn, and the men instructed them in the difierent 
modes of taking deer and turkeys. 

It was a fortunate circumstance that the emi- 
grants arrived in America so early in the season. 
The severity of the winter was over, and all the 
changes which took place in the advance of the 
season, were of an agreeable character and indicated 
the approach of spring. Another ftivorable feature 
w^as, that the land in the neighborhood of the vil- 
lage had been cultivated by the Indians. It w^as 
not, therefore, in its wild and rugged condition, 
but broken up and soft, so that when the time for 
planting arrived, the soil was found to be in a com- 
paratively prepared state ; ready for the reception 
r)f seed. This saved the colonists the trouble of 



44 cla^ybokne's conduct. 

cutting down trees, removing stones, and eiFecting 
a clearance before they commenced j^l-'iiiting, as all 
this had been done. 

Such was the fertility of the soil that the year 
following their exports of Indian corn are said to 
have amounted to ten thousand bushels. This was 
exchanged with the colonies of New England for 
salt fish, and other provisions. 

The pleasant state of harmony l)et\veen the 
English and the Indians was interrupted. One 
WiUiam Clayborne, who had been opposed to 
Calvert's establishing a settlement in ^Maryland, 
had formed a trading post, or colony, on the Isle 
of Kent in the Chesapeake river, and within tlie 
boundaries of Lord Baltimore's domain. He, also, 
had the nucleus of a settlement at the mouth of the 
Susquehanna. He had done all this under the pro- 
tection of a license to trade with the natives ; and 
even went so far as to claim the land in the vicinity 
of his settlements. When, therefore, Lord Balti- 
more obtained from the king a grant of land which 
included what Clayborne had called his property, 
the latter was ofiended, and was determined to 
create all the annoyance in his power. 

When Lord Baltimore was informed of the ficts 
in the case, he issued orders that if Clayborne would 
not submit to his authority he should be punished. 
The attempt to seize him, however, proved unsuo- 



CLAYBOKNE FRUSTRATED. 45 

cessful. To impede the prosperity of the colony at 
St. Mary's, Clayborne endeavored to excite the In- 
dians against it. For this purpose he told them that 
these newly arrived emigrants were Spaniards, ene- 
mies to the English in Virginia, and presented other 
motives far the natives to attack and drive them 
off. At first the simple-minded aborigines beheved 
him, and at once discontinued their intercourse with 
the settlement of St. Mai-y's. Their departure and 
change of conduct awakened the suspicions of Cal- 
vert and his company that some evil was contem- 
plated. They, therefore, relinquished work upon 
their own dwellings, which were then in process of 
erection, and combined all their eiforts upon the fort, 
which, in the course of six weeks, they completed. 
After having provided this important means of de- 
fense, they returned to their own edifices and finish- 
ed them. 

Such was the judicious conduct of the English ; 
so careful were they to avoid all conduct which might 
awaken the suspicions of the natives, and, so con- 
stant were they in giving every exhibition of friend- 
liness when they occasionally met them, that it was 
not long before the Indians were convinced that the 
statements made by Clayborne were fidse, and re- 
turned again to their accustomed intercourse with 
tlie whites. 

So deepseated was Clayborne's opposition to the 



46 CLAYBORNE COXQUERED. 

colony, that he was not discouraged by this faihire 
to excite the Indians against it, but resorted to other 
and more flagrant measures. In T635 he gave a com- 
mission to one of his adherents, named Ratchife 
Warren, to caj^ture any of the vessels which be- 
longed to the emigrants at St. Mary's ; and to aid 
him in the execution of tliis object, he furnished 
him with a pinnace which carried a complement of 
about fourteen men, over whom Thomas Smith was 
second in command. 

In anticipation of a collision. Governor Calvert 
prepared two boats for the emergency, which he 
properly armed and manned and placed under the 
control of Thomas Cornwallis, Esq. 

It is difficult for vessels belonging to opposing 
parties, to float in the same watei's, with a knowl- 
edge of each others proximity, without soon find- 
ing an occasion to develop their belligerent designs. 
That was the case in the present instance. When 
the parties met, which was in the month of April, 
in one of the rivers of Maryland, Clayborne's men 
opened their fire upon the boats of Cornwaflis. 
Scarcely had the echoes from the shore died away 
before the insult was resented by the guns of Corn- 
wallis. The engagement, which was probably of 
short duration, resulted in the death of one of Corn- 
wallis's men, and two of Clayborne's, and in the cap- 
ture of the boat and whole party of the latter. It 



CLAYBORNE IN ENGLAND. 47 

was now an easy task for the conquerors to take 
possession of the Isle of Kent, on which was Clay- 
home's settlement. 

Clayborne, fearing the threats of Calvert, fled to 
Virginia and sought shelter under the protection of 
Governor Harvey. Calvert sent to Virginia to re- 
claim him as a fugitive from justice; but Harvey 
considered it best to send him to England for trial, 
accomjDanied by the witnesses in the case. 

After his flight, the colonial assembly of Maryland 
passed an act of attainder against him and seized 
his estates. 

When Clayborne arrived in England he attempt- 
ed to seek redress for his wrongs. By misrepresent- 
ations and the influence of powerful friends, he suc- 
ceeded, for a brief period, in obtaining the favorable 
consideration of the King. But when the whole 
matter was examined by the commissioners for the 
plantations, they sustained the claims of Lord Balti- 
more, and decided that he possessed the exclusive 
authority to establish, or permit others to establish 
settlements, or open commerce with the Indians 
within the limits of Maryland. 

Clayborne had been encouraged and assisted in 
his rebellion by Captain Richard Ingle^ who had 
been arrested upon a charge of treason, but had 
managed to escape from the authorities. At a 
later period, mider the impulse of revenge for whit 



48 RECORDS LOST. 

they deemed the wrongs which they had received 
from Lord Bakimore, Clayborne and his party came 
upon St. Mary's and compelled Governor Calvert to 
flee, who was glad to lind a refuge from them in 
the colony of Virginia. The insurgents now haa 
every thing in their own way and tlie result was 
that disorder and misrule prevailed. Their domin- 
ion, however, was of short duration, lasting only a 
little longer than a year. They managed, however, 
among other ruinous deeds, to lose, or destroy al 
most all the early records of the colony. 

How the affairs of the colony were managed dur- 
ing the period of Ing]e's and Clayborne's rebelUon, 
and what particular incidents occurred, it is now 
impossible to tell. By the loss of the records, to 
which allusion has just been made, we have been 
deprived of authentic documents upon the subject; 
and cotemporary writers, it appears, did not re- 
gard the events which transpired of sufficient im- 
portance to make them the subjects of historical 
narrative. 

During Calvert's absence Irom Maryland, a Mr. 
Hill was chosen governor ; but when at the latter 
part of the year 1646, Calvert returned with a little 
army A\hicli he had managed to collect in Virginia 
the insurgents, after some slight engagements, sub- 
mitted to him. Mr. Hill " the pretended govern- 
or" was compelled to relinquish his office, but 



4Q 

PECULIARITIES. ^^ 



this was done upon certain conditions to wl«ch he 
and Calvevt mutually subscribed. 

The first session of the assembly of Maryland 
which was held after Governor Calvert's restoration 
to authority, exhibited two remarkable pecnhar- 
ities During Governor Hill's equivocal admnnstra- 
tion he called an assembly of the province which, 
after passing some laws (now unknown), adjourned 
After Calvert's reinstatement to office he convened 
the same assembly agam. 

It appears to us remarkable that Calvert could 
have had sufficient confidence in an assembly wmch 
had been called by IliU during the rebellion and 
who are said to have consisted, with two or three 
exceptions, of Calvert's enemies) to trust them with 
the power of enacting laws for the colony. If, how- 
ever we were acquainted with all the circumstances, 
it mi-htbeseen that this was an eminently judicious, 
p.cifi'c movement, and was directly adopted to bring 
back those insurgents, who had been led astray by 
Clayborne,toafirmadhesiontoCalvert'sgovernment 

The other peculiarity was that at this session of 
the assembly we have the first instance recorded of 
the distinction between the upper and lower houses 
of assembly "and the form practiced of sending tor 
the lower house to attend the governor in the up- 
per, to hear his speech to them in the manner of an 
English legislative body." 



CHAPTER III. 

Colonists to scatter — Foresight of Lord Baltimore — Conditions of Land* 
gi-auts— Special Instructions— Courts Baron and Courts Leet — New Uses 
— Ecmnant of the Feudal Ages— Manors of Lands— Important Fea- 
ture — Failure of the Aristocratic Element a Cause of Thanksgiving. 

It will be appi-opriate here to consider, on wliat 
terms grants of lands were made by Lord Baltimore 
to individual colonists. 

It was not expected, when the enterprise of set- 
tling Maryland was first commenced, that all the 
colonists would establish themselves in one place, 
but that as they gathered strength, and secured the 
good will of the Indians, they would scatter them- 
selves throughout the region. The intellio-ent fore- 
sight of Lord Baltimore induced him to make provi- 
sion for this, by holding out inducements for the 
people to emigrate and disperse over the country. 

In the year 1(536 he authorized his brother, the 
acting governor of the province, to make liberal 
grants of land to those already in the country, and 
then " to every other adventurer wdiich shall trans- 
port any number of persons less than five, a grant 
of one hundred acres of land for him or herself' and 
one hundred more for his wife (if he brouglit any), 



CONDITIONS OF LAND GRANTS. 51 

and as much for every man-servant, and fifty acres 
more for every child under the age of sixteen years ; 
and for every maid-servant under the age of forty 
years, to his or luer heirs, forever, for the yearly rent 
of twelve pence for every fifty acres." 

Other instructions which were given had a strong 
tendency to create a permanent aristocracy, which 
would have entailed a perpetual curse upon the land. 
They were as follows : — every one, two, or three 
thousand acres thus granted was to be erected into 
a manor, and named as the adventurer holding it 
should please. 

" And we do further authorize you that you cause 
to be granted unto every of the said adventurers, 
within every of the said manors respectively, and 
to his or their heirs a court baron and court leet, 
to be from time to time held within every such 
manor respectively." 

These courts baron and courts leet were courts 
of which the baron, and sometimes his steward, were 
the judges for the trial of civil cases. 

However repugnant such manors, with their 
courts and privileges, are to our republican views of 
the present day, it is evident that at that time they 
furnished a strong inducement for gentlemen of 
property in England, to emigrate with their families 
and adherents to Maryland, as they would be exalted 
to a baronetcy,with power to hold these feudal courts. 



62 ATTEMPT A.T FEUDAIJSM. 

One feature in these grants of land of a highly 
important character, was, that they were to be of 
an " indefeasible estate of inheritance in fee simple, 
to them and their heirs, forever.". That is to say, 
the conditions on which the lands were originally 
granted to the adventurers were never to be altered, 
but were to descend to their heirs forever, on the 
same conditions. So that the grant of one thousand 
acres of land for the yearly rent of twenty shillings, 
to be paid in the commodities, was to remain the 
same forever. The rent could never be increased. 
No matter how greatly the value of the land might 
rise, nor how large might be the income accrumg 
to the tenant or baron who held it, this rent of twen- 
ty shillings could never be increased. This was the 
Enghsh meaning of fee simple. 

It is easy to perceive that this was a remnant of 
the customs which prevailed in the feudal ages, 
when a king, or great lord granted to noblemen or 
military officers, for a nominal annuity, a large extent 
of territory to govern, and from which to derive a 
revenue for their own benefit. 

In accordance with the instructions which he 
gave to the Governor of Maryland, Lord Baltimore 
laid off, in different parts of the province, manors 
of lands, some of which were reserved for his own 
use, others for the benefit of his relatives and 
friends, and others for any individuals who would 



FAILUKE OP ATTEMPTS AT FEUDALISM. 53 

receive them according to tlie specified condi- 
tions. 

But although this attempt to fasten an odious, 
aristocratic, and feudal element upon our soil, was 
thus made in the first settlement of the country, it 
should be a matter of sincere thanksgiving that it 
proved a failure. If courts baron or courts leet 
vi^ere ever held in Maryland, the records of them 
have peiished. It is certain that if they were held 
at all, it must have been but very seldom. 



' CHAPTER lY. 

n-'.-. eous Inferences— Religious Liberty — Wlien it is defective — Charter 
and Laws of Maryland — Coniormity to the Ecclesiastical Laws of Eng- 
land — Union of Religion and Civil Government — Religious Toleration 
— Reproachful Terms forbidden — Penalty for using them — Liberty 
limited — Oppressive Laws— The DLft'erence in Rhode Island — Influence 
of Protestantism— Liberal Principles. 

Some writers upon the history of our country 
hare used such strong and glowing language re- 
specting the religious liberty of the young Catholic 
colony of Maryland as is liable to convey an 
erroneous impression. And inferences have been 
drawn from it to show that one of the glorious 
features of Roman Catholicism is its toleration of 
all religious sects ! ! 

A mere reference to Ireland, Italy, Spain or 
Portugal, when under the dominion of the papacy, 
would be a sufficient refutation to such an hifer- 
ence. But, as a sober argument to establish this 
false position is attempted to be made out of the 
proceedings of the colony of Maryland, it is appro- 
priate that the facts should here be stated. 

Religious liberty, or the toleration of all religious 



EELIGIOLTS LIBERTY. 55 

sects, is that element of civil government which 
allows every person to form any opinion upon 
religious subjects, and practice any religious cere- 
monies, he pleases, provided he does not interfere 
with the rights of others. The attempt, by any 
legal enactments, to bring about a uniformity of 
belief and practice — to fine, imprison, or otherwise 
punish men for their religious belief, is tyranny. In 
the degree in which these coercive measures are 
adopted in any government, is the element of relig- 
ious liberty defective. Let us see now what were 
the facts upon this subject in the early history of 
Maryland. 

If we turn to the charter, we find that the fourth 
paragraph, or section, grants to Lord Baltimore and 
his heirs, authority to erect and found " churches, 
chapels, and places of worship, in convenient and 
suitable places within the premises, and of causing 
the same to be dedicated and consecrated accord- 
ing to tlie ecclesiastical law of our kingdom of 
England:'' 

From that it would seem that the extent in 
which religious liberty could be enjoyed, in accord- 
ance with the precise construction of the charter, 
was the degree in which it existed in the mother 
country. The phrase which we have italicised 
above, fixed its limits. 

In the twenty-second section it was provided 



56 unio:n of chuecii and state. 

that no intei-pretation of the charter should '^be 
made Avhereby God's holy and true Christian relig- 
ion^ or the allegiance due to us, our heirs, and suc- 
cessoi's, may in anyicise suffer by change, prejudice, 
or diminution." 

While, therefore, the charter, in respect to its 
phi-aseology, grants protection to the Christian 
religion, it -attempts no definition of what that 
religion is. It might be inferred from the fourth 
section, that it meant the Christian religion as set- 
tled by "the ecclesiastical laws of England." 

If we leave the charter and pass on to some of 
the early laws which were enacted upon this sub- 
ject, we shall discover the opinions and policy of 
the colonists themselves. 

At a meeting of the Genei-al Assembly of Mary- 
land, held in 1649, a law was passed entitled "An 
act concei-ning religion," the preamble of which 
states, "Forasmuch as in a well-governed and 
Christian commonwealth, mattei-s concerning re- 
ligion and the honor of God ought, in the first 
place to be taken into serious consideration and 
endeavored to be settled, be it therefore ordained, 
etc." 

This preamble assumes the right of the Legislature 
to settle, by legal enactments, the religious institu- 
tions of the land ; to decide what opinions and 
practices shall be, and what shall not be, tolerated; 



EELIGIOUS TOLERATION. 57 

it thus goes the whole length of admittmg the con- 
stitutionality of the connection between Church and 
State — the power of the Legislature to erect, by 
legal enactments, an established religion. Although 
this principle is now repudiated in the United States, 
being regarded there as the bane of nations, fraught 
with almost every kind and degree of political evil, 
yet at the period of which we treat, it was not 
peculiar to Maryland. It was generally adopted. 
It was in practical operation in Virginia, in Massa- 
chusetts, in England, and the other governments of 
Europe. So important was the connection between 
the government and the Church at that time consid- 
ered, that one of the first duties of the government 
was supposed to be the protection of the interests 
of the Church, and therefore this is expressly stated 
in the above preamble. 

Although this preamble admits the right of the 
Legislature to settle " matters concerning religion," 
yet the law to which it was the introduction, was 
an exceedingly liberal one, and granted liberty of 
conscience to all persons " professing to believe in 
Jesus Christ." Its language is, " Whereas the en- 
forcing of the conscience in matters of religion, 
hath frequently fallen out to be of dangerous con- 
sequence in those commonwealths where it has been 
practiced, and for the more quiet and peaceable 
government of this province, and the better to pre- 



58 OBJECT OF LOKD BALTIMORE. 

serve mutnal love and unity among the inhabit- 
ants here, be it therefore also, by the lord propriet- 
ary, with the advice and assent of this assembly, 
ordained and enacted * * * that no person 
or persons, within this province * * * profess- 
mg to believe in Jesiis Christ, shall from henceforth 
be anywise troubled, molested, or discountenanced 
for, or in respect of, his or her religion, nor in the 
free exercise thereof, within this province * * * 
nor any way compelled to the beUef, or exercise of 
any other religion, against his or her consent." 

It was also enacted that any person who should 
violate this law by troubling or molesting others, 
either in person or estate, on account of their re- 
ligion, should be compelled to pay treble dam- 
ages to the party so injured, and for every such 
offense should, in addition, forfeit twenty shillings 
sterling. 

This was a very liberal provision, and was far in 
advance of any other government, with the excep- 
tion of the small, but free and independent, colony 
of Providence. 

The object of Lord Baltimore was to mcrease the 
number of settlers in Maryland. To accompUsh 
this he adopted a wise poUcy. Religious persecu. 
tion was the fashion of the times. CathoUcs, Puri- 
tans, and all other sects, except, those belonging to 
tlie Established Chui-ch, were subjected to great 



PENALTIES FOK KEPEO ACHES. 59 

disabilities in England in consequence of tlieir re- 
ligious tenets; while in the Roman Catholic coun- 
tries of Europe, all, except the adherents of the 
papacy, were the objects of ecclesiastical censure, 
and criminal prosecution. Liberty to think and 
act for oneself m rehgious matters, was nowhere 
allowed in Europe. The establishment of a colony, 
therefore, where unfettered freedom of conscience 
w^as to be guarantied to all the colonists, must have 
appeared like a bright spot in the horizon, to the 
various persecuted sects in the Old World, and must 
have furnished them with a strong inducement to 
emigrate, that they might enjoy the peace which 
was denied them in their own lands. 

So minute in its details was the law that was 
passed in Maryland as to be almost a violation of 
its own fundamental principle. Foi* instance, it 
enacted that any person w^ho should, upon any 
occasion, declare, or call by way of reproach, any 
other person residing in the province, a Heretic, 
Schismatic, Idolator, Puritan, Presbyterian, Inde- 
pendent, Popish Priest, Jesuit, Jesuited Papist, 
Lutheran, Calvinist, Anabaptist, Brownist, Anti- 
nomian, Barrowist, Round-head, Separatist, or other 
name or term, in a reproachful manner, relating to 
rehgion, should, for every such ofiense, be fined 
ten shillmgs sterling. If he had not property suf- 
ficient to pay this fine, he was then to be publicly 



60 CONTKACTED LIBERTY. 

whipped, and then suifer imprisonment until he 
should satisfy the offended person by asking his or 
her forgiveness publicly, in the presence of the 
officers or chief magistrate of the town where the 
offense was committed. 

A law like this would, at the present day, be regard- 
ed as a great infringement upon liberty of speech. 
Many of these forbidden terms were used as descrip- 
tive epithets and saved a circumlocution. They 
could be used therefore without the exhibition of 
any disrespect whatever. It is evident also that the 
execution of the law would involve great difficulty, 
for how could it be satisfactorily settled in any given 
histance, whether these terms were used reproach- 
fully or merely as explanatory — as simply descriptive 
of the parties intended ? 

Stih, the law, taken as a whole, appears to exhi- 
bit the determination of the colony to protect all 
individuals from insult and injury on account of 
their religious opinions. It seems, upon a cursory 
glance, to offer universal religious toleration. But 
a more careful examination of its provisions will 
convince us that this is not the case. 

In the first place, those to whom toleration was 
offered were those "professing- to believe in Jesus 
Christ." Consequently all who came not within this 
description were excluded. Jews, Mohammedans, 
Hindoos, etc., would not have been allowed the 



OPPRESSIVE LAWS. 61 

immolested enjoyment of their religious views, if 
they had been disposed to reside there. Even the 
Indians, the original owners of the soil, were not 
protected by this law in their religion. It was veiy 
far therefore from granting universal religious lib- 
erty. 

In the next place, when we ascertain who are 
meant by "those professing to believe in Jesus 
Christ," we shall discover another great contraction 
in the liberty granted by this law, which would 
throw without the pale of its protection thousands 
of individuals who, at the present day, profess to be 
believers in Christ. It was designed as descriptive 
of those who are generally known as " evangelical" 
or " orthodox" in their belief — those who hold to 
the Supreme Divinity of Christ, and the trinity of 
persons in the Godhead. All such sects had liberty 
of conscience granted them. But believers in what 
is now termed XJnitarianism, Avere not only not tol- 
erated, but were subjected to the severest penalty 
that could be executed. For the law enacted that 
" any person or persons, within this province, that 
shall deny our Saviour Jesus Christ to be the Son 
of God, or shall deny the Holy Trinity, the Father, 
Son, and Holy Ghost, or the Godhead of any of the 
said three persons of the Trinity, or the Unity of 
the Godhead, or shall use or utter any reproachful 
speeches, words or language concerning the Hol^ 
6 



62 BLENDING OF LIBERTY AND DESPOTISM. 

Trinity, or any of the said three persons thereof, 
shall be punished icith deaths and confiscation, or 
forfeiture of all his or her lands and goods" ! ! 

It is a very remarkable circumstance that while, 
in the Puritan colonies of Massachusetts, Episcopa- 
lians and other sects were not tolerated, and in the 
Episcopalian settlement in Yirginia, Puritans and 
others were not allowed a peaceful residence, yet in 
she Catholic colony of Maryland, Episcopalians and 
Puritans were both permitted the enjoyment of free- 
dom of conscience though the same law that grant- 
ed them that boon doomed evei-y Unitarian to 
death !* 

In the same statute it was also enacted that who- 
ever should utter any reproachful words concern- 
ing the " blessed Virgin Maiy," or any of the apos- 
tles or evangelists, should be fined five pounds ster- 
ling, and if he was too poor to pay the fine, he was 
to be whipped and afterward impi-isoned during the 
pleasure of the lord proprietai-y, or the governor of 
the province. For the second oifense he was to pay 
a fine of ten pounds sterling, or, as a substitute, to 
be " publicly and severely whipped," and for the 
third oifense he was to forfeit all his lands and goods 
and be forever banished from the colony. 

In this law there was a strange blending of the 

* This law, it is said, still exists in Maryland. 



Liberty in biiode island. 63 

elements of religious liberty and spiritual despotism. 
And how a legislative body which approved of one 
part of its provisions, could flivor another part, is 
" passing strange." Yet, with all its imperfections, 
it was on the whole a very liberal enactment, when 
compared with those of the colonies of Plymouth, 
Massachusetts, and Jamestown. It granted more 
religious freedom tlian could be enjoyed under any 
monarchy in Europe. Its spirit of toleration was 
excelled nowhere upon earth, except by the plant- 
ations at Rhode Island, where at the first meeting 
of their General Assembly, held in May, 1047, a code 
of civil regulations was passed, which concluded as 
follows : " Otherwise than thus, what is herein for- 
bidden, all men may walk as their consciences per- 
suade them, every one in the name of his God. 
And let the lambs of the Most High walk in this 
colony without molestation, in the name of Jeho' 
vah, their God, forever and ever." 

Some time prior to this, it had been decided by 
the authorities of the town of Providence, that all 
persons who settled there should sign a document, 
in which they promised to submit themselves in 
active or passive obedience to all such orders or 
agreements as should be regularly adopted by a 
majority of the inhabitants, but '•''only m civil 
thifigsy This left their religious opinions and 
practices untouched. 



d4 INFLUENCE OF TPIE TROTESTANTS. 

While, therefore, in Maryland, religions tolera- 
tion Avas granted to those only who professed to 
believe in the divinity of Jesns Christ, and in the 
trinity of persons in the Godhead (the deniers of 
these sentiments being doomed to death), in Rhode 
Island every complexion of religions faith was 
allowed. Jews and Christians, Mohammedans and 
I'agans, were alike gnarantied the nnmolested en- 
joyment of their religious opinions and practices. 
None were subjected to any civil disabilities, or 
other penalty, on account of their faith. Conduct, 
and not opinions, was there regarded as the only ap- 
jjropriate subject of legal adjudication. A man 
might believe and practice what he chose, provided 
he did not trespass upon the rights of others. The 
widest religious liberty was granted that was con- 
sistent with public order, and therefore, as Gov- 
ernor Hopkins has said, " Roger Williams justly 
claims the honor of having been the first legislator 
in the world, in its latter ages, that fully and effect- 
ually provided for, and established a full, free, and 
absolute liberty of conscience." 

Notwithstanding the limitations of the law of 
Maryland, if it should excite any surprise that a 
statute so libei-al on the whole should have been 
passed there, that astonishment will be lessened 
when it is known that in the Provincial Assembly 
were many l*roteslants. Bozman in his History of 



LIBERALITY OF LORD BALTIMORE. G5 

Maryland, states that '' there are strong grounds to 
believe that the majority of the members of this 
Assembly of 1 049 were Protestants. * * * Gov- 
ernor Stone and a majority of the Council Avere 
Protestants. There are strong reasons for a sup- 
position that a majority of the members of the other 
House of Assembly were Protestants also; inas- 
much as they certainly were at the next session of 
1650. We may then fairly presume that the gov- 
ernor and council sitting with the lower house at 
this session (for they were not yet divided into two 
houses, as at the next session) made a majority of 
Protestants. The acts of this Assembly, therefore, 
w^ere the legislative proceedings of Protestants." 

The f ict that this law was approved by Lord Bal- 
timore, who was a Roman Catholic, although it was 
a Avide departure from the established usages of 
Roman Cathohc governments elsewhere, furnishes 
evidence that he was a man of liberal principles, 
and for which he ought to receive all due praise. 



CHAPTER V. 

LsT asraiiist Stealing One's-self— Avbitraiy Distinction*- '*^flaence of the 
Eoman Catholic Priests— Importance of little Kl »vi«!d^c— Peculiar 
Law— Curious Definition of Drunkenness— Its pena'V Law enjoining 
Fasting— Laws resp^'cting Tobacco and Corn — Corn to V* tvlce shakeu 
—Corn Ilaud-uiills— Saw-mill destroyed in London — Reanjn for Indian 
Fears — Ancient Feuds among tlie Indians — Indian Opint ns— Collision 
with the Indians— Warlike Preparations— The Maquau''e(4<-ats— Tlio 
Patuxent Indians — They are reconciled and protected. 

In addition to the laws which are alluc'^d to in 
the last cha})ter, there were a number of otliers, 
that were passed by the Assembly of jMary]vuid, in 
her early history, that shed light upon the peculiar 
features of those times. 

In 1639 it was enacted that ^'stealth of one' 'i-self^ 
which is the unlawful departure of a servant out of 
service, or out of the colony, mthout the privj*,y oi 
consent of the master or mistress," was to be pun- 
ished with "the pains of death by hanging, except 
the offender can read clerk-like, and then he '•hall 
lose his hand, or be burned in the hand or forc^ ^ad 
with a hot iron, and forfeit his lands, goods, "tid 
chattels." This forfeiture of property was tc ))e 
comi)lete (saving to the widow, her dower, an ^o 



READERS EXEMPT FROM PUNISHMENT. 67 

the heirs, his or her inheritance, if claims be mads 
thereof within three years after judgment is given), 
Tlie same penalty was annexed to a variety of other 
crimes, which, by the same law, were declared to 
be felonies, such as manslaughter, malicious tres- 
pass, cutting out another's tongue, forgery, assault- 
ing the lieutenant-general, or beating or assaulting 
any judge, witness, or juryman in court. 

It will, doubtless, appear to the reader somewhat 
singular that the extreme penalty of death could be 
escaped in these cases, provided the crhninal "could 
read clerk-like." If two individuals were convicted 
of similar crimes, say forgery, manslaughter, or 
stealing himself, one of whom could read, and the 
other could not, the former would escape the gal- 
lows, but the other w^ould be hung. 

In accounting for this arbitrary distinction, Boz- 
man states that the Roman Catholic clergy had 
obtained such great influence over most of the 
European nations, that they had secured for them 
selves an exemption from all punishments affixed to 
crimes, except such as were imposed by their own 
ecclesiastical tribunals. " This privilege originally 
annexed to their order by the ancient Church, was 
not abrogated in England by the Reformation. It 
liad so interwoven itself with the common law of 
the realm, that a total abolition of even so odious 
an exemption became almost impossible." As, 



68 PENALTIES FOR SWEARING. 

durin.G: the middle ages, the ignorance of the 
masses was so great that but few or any could 
read, except the clergy, the ability to read clerk- 
like, or like a clergyman, was regarded as conclu- 
sive evidence that the reader belonged to the 
clerical profession, and was, therefore, entitled to 
exemption from all penalties, except those fixed by 
the Church. Hence the extraordinary question 
when about to pass sentence on a ci'immal, " Can 
he read, or not read?" This criterion was trans- 
ported across the Atlantic, and was practiced in the 
early history of Maryland, so that an offender's life 
was suspended upon the question, " Can he read or 
not ?" This eminently unjust and offensive dis- 
tinction, continued in use in Maryland till the com- 
mencement of the eighteenth century ! ! 

It was also enacted that any one who should 
remove out of an English plantation to reside 
among any Indians not christened^ without the 
consent of the colonial government, should be im- 
prisoned. 

Swearing, which is described as the " prophane 
adjuration by God, or some holy creature," should 
be lined five pounds of tobacco, or one shillmg 
sterling. 

Vai-ious nations have passed laws against drunken- 
ness, but in not a few instances embarrassments have 
arisen in the execution o^'the law, arising from the 



LAW RESPECTING CORN. 69 

difficulty of deciding whether the accused was really 
guilty or not. What is drunkenness, and to how 
great a degree must a person be intoxicated, before 
he be subjected to the penalty? are questions upcm 
which there have always been different opinions. 

In the enactment upon this subject passed by the 
Assembly of Maryland, an attempt was made to de- 
fine the offense, as follows : — " Drunkenness, which is 
drinking with excess to the notable perturbation of 
any organ of sense or motion?^ shall be punished 
with a fine of thirty pounds tobacco, or five shillings 
sterling, or otherwise the offender shall be whipped^ 
or by some other eorporal shame or punishment cor- 
rected for every such excess at the discretion of the 
judge. 

Eating flesh in time of Lent, or on other days 
wherein it is prohibited by the law of England, ex- 
cept in case of sickness, or infirmity, was fined five 
pounds of tobacco or one shilling sterling for every 
such offense. 

Corn was an essential article of existence in Mary- 
land, and as there was danger that, if the Indiana 
became at variance with the whites, they would 
mthhold their grain, and, by so doing, subject the 
colonists to great distress, it was considered import- 
ant to encourage the cultivation of this article ; ac- 
cordingly, it was enacted that " any person planting 
tobacco, was yearly, also, to plant and tend two 



70 SHAKING DOWX CORN-. 

acres of corn for his own food, and two acres of 
corn more for every person in his family planting 
tobacco, under the penalty of five barrels of corn or 
other commodities, to the A'alue thereof, for every 
two acres of corn wherein he shall make default." 
By the faithful observance of this law, it was be- 
lieved that they would be to a great degree, if not 
entirely, independent of the Indians for their sup 
phes of grain. 

Another law, which was passed at the same ses- 
sion, regulated the manner of measuring this article, 
which will strike the uninitiated as somewhat pecu- 
liar ; — it reads as follows : " And all contracts made 
for payment in corn, shall be understood of corn 
shelled; and a barrel of new corn tendered in pay- 
ment at, 01- afore the fifteenth day of October in any 
year shall be ticice shahed in the barrel and after- 
ward heaped as long as it icill lie on ; and at oi 
before the feast of the nativity, shall be twice shah 
ed and filled to the edge of the barrel^ or else not 
shaked, and heaped as before; and after tne said 
feast, it shall not be shaked at all, but delivered by 
strike.''^ 

Having obtained corn, the next thing was to 
grind it and convert it to meal. For this purpose 
small hand-mills were in use. But as this furnished 
a slow process for providing the requisite amount of 
meal, it was necessary that a large mill should bo 



SAW -MILL DESTROYED. Yl 

erected. There being no men of capital among the 
colonists who were disposed to invest their money 
in a mill, as a business speculation, it was enacted 
that "Any bargain which the lieutenant-general 
and council shall make with any undertaker, for the 
setting up of a water mill for the use of this colony, 
shall be levied upon all inhabitants of the colony in 
such manner as the lieutenant-general and council 
shall appoint, so it exceed not ten thousand pounds 
tobacco in a year for two years only." Thus the 
whole colony were taxed for funds to erect a water- 
mill. 

It is an interesting coincidence that the first water 
mill built in Massachusetts was not erected until aftei 
that colony had been in existence about as long as the 
colony of Maryland had been, when this mill was 
built ; and the same year of the erection of the one 
in Massachusetts, which was 1633, a saw-mill is 
said to have been built near London, but as it was 
unpopular, being regarded as a machine which would 
deprive many of the poor of the employment by 
which they obtained a livelihood, it was destroyed, 
perhaps under the influence of mob-law. 

Thus far the colony of Maryland had succeeded 
m keeping on such friendly terms with the Indians 
that there had been no serious outbreak between 
them. In this respect they had been more success- 
ful than the other Ameri )an colonies. But about 



Y2 INDIAN APPREHENSIONS. 

the year 1639 these pacific relations were inter- 
rupted. 

The more thoughtful and experienced among the 
aborigines of Maryland and Virginia appeared to 
foresee their approaching doom, provided these 
white intruders upon their soil were allowed to in- 
crease. 

To their untutored mind, the settlement and 
habits of these strangers must have been invested 
with great mystery. They were introduced among 
them in a surprising manner, coming as they did in 
great floating houses, with a})parently many white 
wings which they could fold or open at pleasure ; 
their pale color, their superior attainments in do- 
mestic life and manufactures, their miraculous 
weapons which breathed fire, spoke thunder, and 
sent invisible balls with resistless force ; the fact, 
too, that they came from unknown lands beyond 
the sea, and might, for aught they knew, be exceed- 
ingly numerous — all these considerations served to 
impart, in their view, a deep tinge of the marvel- 
ous to the coming of these uninvited strangers, and 
must also have made them anxious to be relieved of 
their presence. Another thing which served to in- 
crease the unpopularity of the English, was thei-r in- 
terference with the difliculties which existed be- 
tween diflerent native tribes, and their attempts to 
prevent wars between them. These tribes being 



INDIAN CODE OF MORALS. 73 

composed of barbarous people, took deliglit in the 
excitements of war. Their code of morals not only 
justified but required revenge. Insult was not 
allowed to pass with impunity. Blood must be 
wiped out with blood. As there were ancient feuds 
existing between different tribes, whenever any of 
those tribes met, their erroneous motives of honor, 
patriotism, and religion, rendered it obligatory 
upon them to sound the startling war-whop, rush at 
once into bloody conflict, and destroy as many of 
their long-standing enemies as possible. They 
deemed themselves culpable, if they allowed them 
to escape without an effort for their destruction. 
It is evident that every such collision added to the 
previously existing causes of hatred between them, 
and increased the obligation of survivors to seek re- 
venge. Interference in these matters on the part 
of foreigners was peculiarly offensive to many of 
these wild knights of the arrow, the twang of whose 
bow-string, mingling with the shrieks of those to 
whom it had sent death, was the most grateful 
sound that fell upon their ears. 

It was about this time, 1639, that certain signs 
of dissatisfliction on the part of the Indians toward 
the whites began to be manifested. At this period 
also it is supposed those plots began to be formed 
which resulted in the dreadful massacre in Vir- 
7 



/ 



74 COLLISTOX WITH THE INDIA^^S. 

giiiia,* when the notorious chief Opechancanoiigh 
secured the sudden slaughter of some hundreds of 
unsuspecting whites. 

In Maryland the powerful Susquehanocks were 
at war with the Piscattoway and Patuxent Indians, 
and probably with the Yoamacoes. These three, 
latter tribes were on friendly terras with the En- 
glish. The colonists therefore sympathized with 
them in the conflict, and interested themselves to 
prevent the incursions of the Susquehanocks against 
them. This of course was not agreeable to the Sus- 
quehanocks who, Indian-like, would be disposed to 
suspect the English of taking sides with the enemy. 
Certain unknown Indians on the eastern shore were 
also hostile. The consequence was that the colony 
incurred the anger of the aggressive tribe, and be- 
came involved in the conflict. 

All was now anxiety and excitement. At what 
point, in what manner, or at what time the mm-- 
derous barbarians might come down upon the En- 
glish like a destructive avalanche, was unknown. It 
was deemed best not to wait for them, but putting 
on a bold front and making an incursion upon their 
own soil, convince them that the English had no 
fear of the issue. It was accordingly ordered that 
a " shaUop be sent to Virginia for to provide twenty 

* An account of this massacre we have given in the "First 
Explorers of North America." 



WAR WITH THE MAQUANTEQUATS. 75 

corselets,* a barrel of powder, four roundlets of shot, 
a barrel of oatmeal, thi-ee firkins of butter, and four 
cases of hot waters ; and that five able persons be 
pressed to go with the said shallop, and necessary 
provisions of victuals be made for them." It was 
also ordered that a pinnace should be pressed to go 
to the Isle of Kent and provide four hogsheads of 
^neal, and that another should be sent against the 
Susquehanocks, sufiiciently victualed and manned, 
and thirty or more good marksmen, with an ade- 
quate number of suitable oflicers; and that each 
marksman be allowed at the rate of a hundred pounds 
of tobacco per month, or another man in his place 
to take care of his plantation, and two sergeants 
who should receive double that rate. Two pinnaces 
and one skifi", if necessary, and good laboring hands 
be pressed to supply the places of such planters as 
shall be pressed upon the service, and be allowed at 
the same rate of one hundred pounds per month." 

In addition to these arrangements for an aggress- 
ive movement, the colonists, and especially those 
at St. Mary's, were placed in a better state of de- 
fense. All the inhabitants of the colony able to 
bear arms were required to train that they might 
*' learn the art and discipline of war." 

What military operations against the Indians dur- 
mg the ypar were the results of these arrangements 
* A corselet was a piece of armor for the front of the body 



76 THE PATUXENTS EECOXCILED. 

we are not informed, but from a commission which 
was issued next year to Nicholas Hervey, it seems 
that hostihties had not entirely ceased. For by 
this commission Hervey was autliorized to go 
with not less than twelve men, well provided with 
arms, against the Maquanteqiiats only and " exe- 
cute and inflict what may be inflicted by the 
law of war." It wo-uld appear from the limits o^ 
this commission to make war only on the Maquan- 
teqiiats, that friendly relations had been brought 
about between the English and the other tribes. 

We know that this was the case with reference 
to the Patuxent Indians, because a proclamation 
was issued, bearing date January 24, 1639, which 
stated: "We are in peace and unity with the Pa- 
tuxent Indians our neighbors, and have taken them 
into our protection, and therefore do i:)roliibit all 
EngUsh whatsoever within our province of Mary- 
hind, for the time being, that they do not oflfer any 
injury or outrage whatsoever, to any of the said In- 
dians upon pam of such punishment as the ofieus« 
shall deserve." 



CHAPTER YI. 

Colonies multiplied— Captain Lucas Fox— His Voyage to the Northera 
Kegions— Dangers from the Ice— How Icebergs are formed— Descrip- 
tion of a Sea Unicorn— Vaiiation of tlie Needle -Reasons for it— Geo- 
logical Discovery— A \A liite Bear floating upon Ice— Its pursuit and 
Capture— Pett}' Dancers— Hunting Swans and Seals— Graves discovered 
—Dog hunting a Stag— l-?chool of Whales— A Dun Fox- Eemains of 
Captain Button's Dwellings— Going a Beirying—A Cross found— Seeking 
a Main-yard— The Maria met with— Fox names various Places— Fox's 
Eeturn. 

While the events, which are narrated m the pre- 
ceding cha})ters, were transpiring within the limits 
of Maryland, efforts were being made to push dis- 
coveries and establish settlements in other places on 
the North American coast. To some of the more 
important of these it f^ proper tliat we now refer. 

Plymouth in New England was settled in 1620. 
Within a few years other settlements w^ere formed 
in New England, as at Cape Ann, Salem, and Bos- 
ton. Colonies liad also been established at James- 
town and other places in Virginia. The old idea 
of a North-west passage to India was still cherished, 
and expeditions w^ere sent out to confirm or explode 
its practicabihty. In 1631 the same year that Clay- 
borne first planted himself upon the island of Kent 
7 •'- 



78 LUCAS FOX. 

in Marylaiul, an ent< rpiise was projected in England 
for explorations along the north-east coast of Amer- 
ica, with a view t^ the discovery of the famous 
Northern passage. It was pkced under the direction 
of Lucas Fox, a seaman of great experience, of whom 
it might be said that for many years " his path was 
upon the mountain wave, his home upon the deep." 

Being disappointed in 1606 in not going as mate 
with Captain John Knight upon a voyage of discov- 
ery to the north, as he had expected to, he, from 
that time, dihgently collected all the information 
he could possibly obtain, by a careful perusal of all 
the voyages which had been made to the northern 
frigid zone, and from conversations with men Avho 
themselves had seen the ice mountains and felt the 
sub-zeroic cold of those frozen regions. 

King Charles 1., being informed of the contem- 
plated voyage of discovery, graciously added a ship 
of his own, which he fitted with necessaries, and 
manned with able-bodied seamen in the most com- 
plete manner. 

When Captain Fox was introduced into tne pres- 
ence of his royal patron, his majesty kindly pre- 
sented hira w^ith a map, or. wdiich were marked all 
the discoveries which had then been made. The 
degree of hope Avhieh the king entertained that 
Fox would make the discovery of the north-west 
passage may be inferred from his givmg to him a 



fox's voyage of discovert. 79 

letter to the Emperor of Japan, to be delivered in 
case he should reach the South Sea by the passage 
he was sfoino- out to discover. 

All thino;s beins: arrano-ed under the most favor- 
able circumstances, Captain Fox set sail from Dept- 
ford on the 5tli of May, 1631, in a ship of only 
eighty tons burden, called, perhaps, after its royal 
owner, " The Charles." On the tenth day out, he had 
the misfortune to break his main-yard, which obliged 
him to put into the Orkneys for repairs. But being 
unable to procure a new main-yard there, he was 
compelled to continue his voyage in this maimed 
condition. Passing Cape Farewell, the southern 
point of Greenland, he continued his course a little 
north of west, in order to reach Hudson's Straits. 
As he approached it he saw that the sea before him 
was dotted with islands, or large pieces of floating 
ice. He now had to redouble his vigilance to avoid 
coming in collision with them, as a comj^aratively 
slight blow of one of these huge masses would have 
been sufficient to dash a hole in the vessel and sink 
her to the bottom. After groping his way through 
the floating ice as well as he was able, for a number 
of days, his eyes were finally cheered with a distant 
view of terra-firma. It proved to be land on the 
north side of Lumley's Inlet, probably Cape Eliza- 
beth, the south-eastern point of the Island of Good 
Fortune. He was desirous of passing through 



80 ICEBERGS. 

Lumley's Inlet into Davis's Straits, but he found, 
althono-h it was summer, so much ice as to make 
the attempt dangerous. He directed his course to 
the Button Islands, several small islands on the 
northern coast of Labrador. The morning of the 
23d opened with a heavy fog, but in the middle 
of the day, the rays of the sun poured down with 
such power that not only was the surrounding ice 
converted rapidly into water, but the pitch on the 
sides of the vessel began also to melt — so sudden 
and great was the transition from cold to heat. This 
unusual warmth lasted, however, but a short tune. 
The strait continued to be filled Mith immense 
quantities of ice of two kinds ; first, mountainous, 
composed of large, irregular shaped masses, rising 
from sixty to a hundred and twenty feet above the 
surface of the water. When the rays of the sun 
shone upon them, they were extremely beautiful, 
presenting every variety of castelated appearance, 
and reflecting all the hues of the rainbow ; the other 
was termed flaked ice, and consisted of thin flat 
cakes of every variety of shape and size, from a 
rood to several acres square. On the 30th of June 
they passed by one of these flakes, on which was a 
quantity of earth and several stones, one of which 
weighing, as was supposed, five or six tons. An in- 
teresting question which has excited the attention 
of scientific men is, how are these ice-mountains 



DISCOVERIES ON TERRA NIVEA. 81 

formed ? Their explanation as given by Mr. John 
tieinhold Foster is as follows: "These mountains of 
ice are formed on the shore, by the snow which the 
^vind blows on to the steep brow of some high 
mountain, to which it adheres, and is compacted 
into a firm and solid piece of ice, which, in the 
spring, becomes loose at the approach of a thaw, and 
rolls into the sea, carrying with it the earth, stones, 
1 jud and trees which it before enveloped." " One 
Light a mountain of ice came driving straight on to- 
Vi ard the ship, as it was deeper under water than 
t],e flaked ice, the current consequently made it 
df'ive faster than the latter, some of which was be- 
t^v'een the ship and the mountain, else tiiis huge 
mass, being already perforated by the action of the 
water upon it, in consequence of its percussion 
against the ship, might have burst ; when the 
broken pieces flilling into the vessel, might easily 
have sunk it, as this mountain was nine or ten 
fathoms, that is from fifty-four to sixty feet above 
water, and who can say how much under it ?" 

On July 1st, Fox was opposite to another island 
near the Resolution Islands, which was called by 
some Terra Nivea. The weather was hot, sultry, 
and calm, a kind of dog-day. They could not start 
the vessel for want of wind. On the 4th he sent 
some men ashore, who found several deserted huts 
which had been formerly occupied by natives, some 
4* 



52 A GEOLOGICAL DISCOVERY. 

driftwood, and the footprints of animals, supposed 
to be stags. On the 20th he came upon a quantity 
of sea unicorns, one of which was nine feet long, 
black back, flat tail, transverse with respect to the 
ridge, and indented between its two peaked ends, 
its sides were black and white dappled ; its belly, 
white ; the general shape of the body resembled a 
mackerel ; its head like that of a lobster, on the 
front of which was a wreathed horn, six feet long, 
entirely black, except a small portion at the tip. 

On the 15th of July, Fox observed that the 
needle no longer pointed north. It had lost its 
jiower. He supposed that this phenomenon was 
caused by the metallic quality of neighboring 
mountains, or from the want of motion in the ship, 
or from the cold benumbing the needle as it be- 
numbs sentient beings, or from the sharpness of the 
air between the needle and its attractive point, by 
which the attractive force was neutralized. He 
was now in the latitude of sixty-three degrees and 
twelve minutes, near Nottingham Island. 

He here made a discovery of considerable geo- 
logical interest. He noticed that three neio-hbor- 

o 

ing islands which lay near the mouth of Hudson's 
Straits, called Resolution, Salisbury and Notting- 
ham, were all of them high on their eastern, and 
low on their western side. "This physico-geo- 
graphical observation," says Forster, "is of the 



WHITE BEAR HUNT. 83 

highest importance, and seems to me to prove that 
at that time, when the sea burst impetuously into 
Hudson's Bay, and tore away these islands from 
the mainland, it must have come rushing from the 
east and south east, and have washed away the 
earth toward the west ; a circumstance which has 
occasioned their present low position." If the 
reader will take the trouble to look on a map, and 
notice the general direction of Hudson's Straits, he 
will see that the above conjecture is not entirely 
unreasonable. 

The same day that this discovery was made, the 
navigators saw many sea-horses. On the 18th, 
being near a part of the mainland known as Gary's 
Swan's Nest, a new object presented itself, which 
created a high degree of excitement among the 
men, and furnished them with considerable sport : 
this was a large white bear floating upon a cake of 
ice. All Rands were soon either ujjon the deck or 
among the rigging, making their observations upon 
the appearance and behavior of this marine bruin. 
Presently it was proposed that they should endeav- 
or to take him. Immediately the whole crew were 
in commotion, and impatient for the chase. All 
were anxious to share in the pleasure and the 
honor of taking this white-robed king of the north. 
This, however, was no easy task. Much time and 
maneuvermg were spent before they succeeded in 



84 SWAN AND SEAL HUNTIXG. 

inflicting the flital wound, and securing tlie victory. 
After dispatching the huge animal, their next 
business was to carve and dispose of it. This being 
done, they tried out its fat, and obtained from it 
forty-eight gallons of oil. Its flesh, when boiled, 
they found to be palatable, but when roasted it had 
a rank, fishy flavor. 

In the evening of the same day, a dark streak 
girdled the horizon, and certain lights, or meteors, 
called the Henbanes or Petty Dancers, were seen 
flashing and waltzing at the north. These were 
regarded by Fox as the pioneers of a storm which 
would show itself within twenty-four hours. He 
was mistaken ; that time passed away and no 
storm came. 

When they arrived at Carey's Swan's Nest, they 
engaged in another kind of sport, which was the 
pursuit of swans. They were not, however, so suc- 
cessful with these as with the bear. As the place 
abounded with marshes, brooks and pools, with all 
of which the birds were familiar ; as, too, the game 
was both shy and swift, the sportsmen, though they 
chased many, were unable to obtain one. On the 
24th a number of seals presented themselves. The 
27th was distinguished for the elevated temperature 
of the air. It was warm even in the night. An 
island was discovered on the west side of Hudson's 
Bay which they named Sir Thomas Roe's Welcome. 



DOG HUNTING A. STAG. 85 

They discovered some gr.aves of the natives, and 
found in them spears headed with iron and copper. 
The next day the surface of the sea was broken in 
various directions by large numbers of fish leaping 
in the water. A whale and many seals were seen. 

It was not long before Fox came to another island, 
which he described as a " white island,"" which he 
called after Sir John Brook, who was interested in 
the enterprise, Brook Cobham. It subsequently re- 
ceived the name of Marble Island, Swans, ducks and 
other aquatic birds abounded here in great numbers. 

They had on board the vessel a dog. To give him 
exercise and to use him in hunting, the quarter- 
master took him on shore, w^here he soon started a 
reindeer, and immediately took after it. The chase 
continued a long time, but finally, the dog brought 
the deer to a stand. The animal might then have 
been killed ; but unfortunately the quarter-master 
had neither gun nor spear, and was therefore obliged 
to let him escape. So long and violent had been 
the pursuit, that the feet both of the deer and the 
dog were torn, and bled profusely. Near the island 
were a large school of whales lying so motionless, 
that Fox concluded they were asleep. Fox contin- 
ued his course along the western coast off the main- 
land, which was protected by many small dangerous 
rocks. On the 20th* he visited a small island, on 

* Tliis is the date as given by Forster. If the narrative was, 
8 



86 



STAG AND FOX HUNTING. 



which were many sea-fowl. Here he struck a sea- 
horse, perhaps the wah'us, with his lance, but it was 
too strong for him to capture alone, and so fled. 




BOG HUNTING A STAG. 



He was more fortunate with an arctic or dun-fox, 
which he pursued, and which he succeeded in taking 
alive. He also obtained a large quantity of scurvy- 

as it appears to be, chronological, this ought to be, probably, the 
thirtieth. 



CAPTAIN BUTTON'S DWELLINGS. 87 

grass, and took it on board. He there had the juice 
pressed out, and poured iu^o a hogshead of beer, 
and ordered that everyone of the crew who desired 
it might have a pint to drink every morning; but 
none of them would touch it till it was entirely 
spoiled and they were all greatly diseased with the 
scurvy, for which it was believed to be a prevent- 
ive. This island was named Dun Fox island. 

On the 31st he reached a cluster of islands which 
he called Briggs's Mathematics. On the 9th of 
August he entered the river Nelson, at the mouth 
of which he saw several white whales. Here he set 
up a pinnace, and upon looking around he found 
the remains of some wmter dwellings, which had 
been erected by Captain Button, who visited this 
place in 1612. On the 15th the weather v/as very 
hot. Passing up the river, the crew on the 17th 
went a-berrying, and were successful in finding 
blackberries, strawberries, gooseberries and vetches. 
They also saw the foot-prints of a stag, and near by 
the wooden framework of a tent, that had the appear- 
ance of having been recently erected. As they looked 
around they saw a fireplace, the bones of birds and 
the hair of deer, with other indications that the place 
had been occupied by men not a great while before ; 
but who they were, how many they were, for what 
purpose they had been there, or where they had 
gone, it was impossible for them to tell. Various 



88 THE MAEIA MET WITH. 

opinions were given by the men, but nothing could 
be confirmed with certainty. They found a cross 
overturned, which had been erected by Captain 
Button as evidence of his having visited the place 
and taken possession of it in the name of his monarch. 
This was to the adventurers an interesting object. 
Fox engraved an inscription upon a leaden plate, 
nailed this upon the cross, and then re-erected it for 
the benefitof any other voyagers who might in future 
visit this spot. lie also named the place New Wales. 
It being now important that the main-yard which 
had been lost should be replaced, the carj)enter 
was sent on shore to cut down five of the best trees, 
which had been marked by the captain as suitable 
for the purpose. The carpenter found them to be 
of tolerable size, round, but very short, as all the 
trees in that region seem to be dwarfed by the 
cold. By fastening the timber of several of them 
together, it appeared probable that he might be 
able to furnish a new main-yard. But, alas, he was 
doomed to experience disappointment. Of the five 
trees which had been designated by the captain, 
not one was suitable for the purpose, as they were 
all decayed within. Fox now coasted toward the 
east, and on the 29th of August he fell in with 
another English vessel. It was to him and his men 
a source of great delight to know that they were 
not alone in those northern, inhosoitable reo-ions. 



NARROW ESCAPE FROM SHIPWRECK. 89 

When the men in the two vessels discovered each 
other, they were mutually anxious to visit each 
other, and exchange an account of their adventures 
and discoveries. The new vessel proved to be the 
" Maria," of seventy tons burden, commanded by 
Captain Thomas James, which had left Bristol in 
England two days before Captain Fox left Dept- 
ford, and for the same purpose — of discovering, if 
possible, a north-west passage to India. They were 
both aware of each other's design before they left 
home, and it was the intention of their owners that 
the two vessels should have sailed toojether on the 
expedition, and yet this w^as the first time they had 
met. After having an opportunity of conversation 
a short time, they parted. On the 2d of Septem- 
ber. Fox came to Cape Henrietta Maria, where the 
direction of the coast changed from east to south. 
This cape is the north-western corner of James's 
Bay. Plaving satisfied himself that there was no 
westei-ly passage into the Pacific Ocean along the 
coast which he had thus far examined. Fox desired 
to make another attempt beyond Nottingham 
Island, where, before, he could not penetrate, on 
account of the ice. On the 6th, the captain and 
the boatswain were both unwell. On the 7th, 
they had a narrow escape from being stranded, and 
perhaps wrecked, on Carey's Swan's Nest, the 
southern point of the island of Southampton. On 
8^ 



90 fox's return. 

the 15th the vessel was managed with difficulty, on 
account of the sails being frozen stiff. On the 18th 
he saw an elevated cape, to which he gave the 
name of King Charles's Promontory, to the north- 
west of which were three islands, forming a triangle, 
which he called the Trinity Islands, after the 
brethren of the Trinity House. He also named 
various other capes, islands, and inlets, which it is 
not necessary here to specify, and then set out on 
his return home. On the 5th of October, the cold 
being severe, the decks, sides, rigging, and sails of 
the vessel were completely coated in ice, giving it 
the appearance of a glass ship. Having reached 
the Atlantic, the captain perceived that a strong 
current was sweeping him rapidly to the south. 
He, however, soon got out of it, crossed the At- 
lantic, sailed through the British Channel, and 
reached the Downs on the 31st of October. So 
fortunate had he been, that he had not lost a sinofle 
man, and with the exception of his main-yard, he 
had met with no serious accident to his vessel. 
He had not, however, discovered, the north-west 
passage ! 

As the experience of Captain James was of a 
somewhat different character from that of Fox, and 
as the account of his adventures is far more interest- 
ing, a detailed narrative of them will be given in the 
next clmpter. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Csptalu James sails for the North — His tryins; Position — He is frozen in— 
James's Ignorance — Dangers to which it leads^Encamping for the Win- 
ter— recnliar Features of a Northern Winter— The Scurvy— Its Symp- 
toms— Effects of Extreme Cold— Difficulty of Working— Thawing Trees 
— Medical treatment — A Singular Phenomenon — Finding tlie Eudder — 
Disappointment— Difficulties multiply — Sick recovering — Homeward 
departure — False Facts. 

Captain Thomas James, under the patronage 
of certain wealthy merchants of Bristol, sailed in a 
strong built ship, called " The Maria," of only seventy 
tons, on the 3d of May, 1631. On the tenth of 
June he was off Cape Desolation. Many islands of 
ice were floating in various directions, and among 
them numerous grampuses were sporting. With 
a sea of an inky appearance beneath them, and a 
perpetual, thick, and offensive-smelling fog around 
them, their condition was far from being pleas- 
ant. On the I'Zth they came in sight of Reso- 
lution Island, placed at the entrance of Hudson's 
Straits. 

Here he noticed that the motion of his needle 
was embari-assed, a circumstance w^hich he attributed 
to the heavy fogs. His ship was now encrusted with 



92 TUE MARIA FROZE IN. 

ice, though this was not the worst of his condition, 
for mountains and flakes, or large cakes of ice 
were floating in every direction, which rendered it 
extremely difficult for liini to make headway, and 
finally stopped him entirely. The ice then closed in 
around the vessel, and froze together, thus shutting 
him completely in. He was now drifted hither and 
thither whithersoever the ice floated. His condi- 
tion was extremely perilous. The captain seems to 
have been either a self-conceited, or else an ignorant 
man, or perhaps both. Two facts which are related 
of him seem almost incredible. The first is, that he 
was entirely unacquainted with the voyages Avhich 
others had made before hun to the north, and there- 
fore knew not the method which they adopted to 
relieve themselves from difficulties similar to those 
in which he was now placed. Far difftn-ent was it 
with Captain Fox; he availed himself of every op- 
portunity to gain knowledge respecting the dangers 
and the different modes of escape which were 
adopted in these northern seas. Before lie left 
England, he knew probably all that could be learncvi 
concerning the navigation of those waters, without 
a personal experience of them. In that respect, 
therefore, he was well fitted for their exploration. 
The other peculiarity in the case of Captain James 
was, that he had designedly refused engaging any 
men as sailors who had, prcAiously to this, made 



MEETS WITH CAPTAIN FOX. 93 

voyages to the north-west or to the frozen regions 
of Spitzbergen. Being inexperienced himself, he 
Lad refused to engage others who had had experi- 
ence. The consequenae of this folly was, that when 
he was locked up among the immense masses of 
floating ice, he knew not what measures had been 
adopted by his predecessors in like circumstances, 
and there w^as no one on board who, from their own 
experience, could inform him. He was obliged, 
therefore, to fall back upon his own inventive 
genius to extricate himself from these, to him, un- 
tried perils. His want of experience, however, sub- 
jected him to indescribable anxiety and sufferings, 
and brought him to the very verge of destruction, 
with his vessel and crew. Through the favor of a 
kind Providence he succeeded, after an incredible 
amount of labor, in breaking his little vessel out, 
and working her through the floating mountains 
and sharp cakes of ice into Hudson's Bay. He kept 
on his westward course, directly across the Bay, 
until he reached the shore, where his peril was in- 
creased by the vessel repeatedly striking the rocky 
bottom. Between Port Nelson and Cape Henrietta 
Maria, he fell in with Captain Fox. 

As it was now too late in the season for discov- 
eries, he occupied himself in searching for a good 
place to pass the winter. Penetrating to the ex- 
tremity of James's Bay, which is the southern pro- 



94 WINTER ENCAMPMENT. 

longation of Hudson's Bay, he found a place that 
seemed adapted to his purpose. " After encounter- 
ing many storms and thousands of perils, among 
the ice, and the many rocks which are found in 
that part of the sea, and his ship having two or 
three times struck on the shoals, he ran her, him- 
self, aground on the island which he afterward 
called Charleton Island. With great difficulty and 
danger they carried their provisions, cables, sails, 
rigging, clothes, utensils, and a thousand other 
necessaries on shore. They made themselves some 
miserable huts of pieces of wood, which they placed 
in an inclining posture round a tree, and covered 
them with boughs of trees, and with their sails, 
which were soon covered over with a good thick 
bed of snow. Besides this hut, they built another, 
and a storehouse. The hands, feet, ears, or noses 
of every one of them were frost-bitten. Their 
clothes that had lain under water in the ship, they 
were obliged to dig out of the ice, and after thaw- 
ing them by the fire, to dry them again. As they 
gave their ship entirely up for lost, they set about 
building a small pinnace, with which they hoped, 
after having once got over the winter, to save 
themselves from this dreary place of exile. The 
cold was most terrible here, in noilh latitude fifty- 
two degrees and three minutes. Wine, sack, oil, 
beer, vmegar, and even brandy froze to solid ice. 



EFFECTS OF THE COLD. 



95 



80 that they were obliged to cut the first of these 
Hquors with hatchets and axes. A well which 
they had dug froze also ; but a spring at two or 
three hundred steps from their dwelling did not 




ENCAMPING rOR THE WINTER. 



fi-eeze below the surflxce, though at the surface it 
was covered with ice and snow. The sini and the 
moon appeai-ed on the horizon twice as long as 
they did broad, on account of the great quantity of 
vapors with which the atmosphere was filled. The 
island was quite covered with forests, but contained 



96 A DREADFUL DISEASE. 

but few reindeer and arctic foxes. On the 31si of 
January, the atmosphere was so clear that Captain 
James could very plainly perceive more stars by 
two thirds than he had ever seen before in his life. 
The sea was frozen every night some two or three 
inches thick ; but the rising and fallmg of the tides 
the next day broke this ice and crowded the cakes 
over each other, in which condition they Avonld 
freeze together and then become foundations for 
other cakes to be heaped upon them and frozen 
fast, and in a few hours become five, six or ten feet 
thick. These cakes, or embryo mountains, would 
then be torn from the shore and float about, cover- 
ing the waters of the ba}', and daily increasing its 
coldness, though when the men waded in the 
water, notwithstanding it froze upon them, it did 
not produce so severe a sensation of coldness as in 
the month of June. This was, probably, owing to 
the fact that in the month of June the atmosphere 
being much warmer than hi the winter months, 
there was a greater contrast then between the 
temperature of the air and of the water, which 
would impart a greater sensation of coldness to 
those who had occasion to wade. In February, 
the men were afflicted with that horrible disease, 
the scurvy. They bled at the mouth ; their gums 
were swollen, and sometimes black and pntrid, and 
all their teeth were loose. Their mouths were so 



SEVERITY OF THE COLD. 97 

sore that they could no longer eat their usual food. 
Some complained of shooting pains in the head, 
others in the breast, others felt a weakness in their 
reins, others had pains in their thighs and knees, 
and others, again, had swollen legs. Two thirds of 
the crew were under the hands of the surgeon, and, 
nevertheless, were obliged to work har<l, though 
they had no shoes to their feet, but instead of 
shoes, fastened clouts about them. In the open 
air the cold was quite insupportable, no clothes 
being proof against it, nor any motion sufficient 
to keep their natural warmth. It froze the hair 
on their eyelids, so that they could not see, and 
it was with difficulty that they could fetch their 
breath. 

In the woods the cold was somewhat less severe ; 
yet here they were afflicted with chilblains on their 
fixces, hands and feet. The least degree of cold was 
within doors. On the outside, the house was cov- 
ered with snow two thirds of its height, and within- 
side every thing was frozen and hung full of icicles. 
Their bedding was quite stiff, and covered with 
hoar-frost, though their beds were almost close to 
the fire in their small dwelling. The water in which 
the cook soaked the salt meat, froze within doors, 
though it stood but three feet from the fire. But 
during the night, when the fire was not so well kept 
up, while the cook slept only for four hours, all waa 



98 THAWING TEEES. 

fi-ozen in the tub into one lump. Wlien afterward 
the cook soaked the meat in a copper kettle close to 
the fire, to 25i'event it from freezing, the side near 
the fire was found to be quite warm, while the op- 
posite side was frozen an inch thick. All their 
axes and hatchets had been spoiled, and rendered 
unfit for use by cutting the frozen wood, so that 
Captain James found it necessaiy to lock up the 
carpenter's axe, in order to prevent it from being 
spoiled also. The green wood that they burned in 
their dwelling, almost suffocated them with smoke ; 
that which was dry, on the contrary, Avas full of 
turpentine, and produced so much soot, that they 
themselves with all their beds, clothes, and utensils, 
were covered with it ; and in short they looked like 
chimney-sweepers. The timber, knees, beams, and 
bent pieces, wanted for the construction of their 
pinnace, caused the greatest difficulty, as the trees, 
before they could fell them, were obliged to be 
thawed by the fire. After this, the pieces were first 
hewn out in the rough, then dried again, and at 
length worked into the last form that was to be 
given them, and fitted into each other ; for wliich 
purpose they were obliged constantly to keep up a 
large fire near the stock, as otherwise it would have 
been impossible for them to have worked there. 
Many of them were disabled by the scurvy, or had 
frozen Umbs, boils and sores; others were every 



SEARCH FOK THE EUDDER. 99 

morning so contracted in their joints by the rheu- 
matism that it was necessary to restore the supple- 
ness and pHancy of their limbs by fomenting them 
every morning with warm water and a decoction 
of the fir-tree, before they were able to go a step 
forward, or to make use of their hands. In the 
month of March the cold was as severe as in the 
midst of winter. In April the snow fell in greater 
quantities than it had done during the whole winter, 
but the flakes were large and rather moist, while in 
the winter the snow was dry, like dust ; even on the 
5th of April, the spring which we mentioned they 
had found, was frozen. An island that was situated 
at the distance of four leagues from them they 
could never see from a small hill in fine weather, 
and Avhen the air was clear ; but, on the contrary, 
when the air was thick and full of vapor, the island 
was visible, even from plain, level ground.* 

The vessel which had been run aground the year 
before, and which had suffered from the ice and 
weather, they began to clear away, in order to see 
if there was the least possibility of its being able to 
carry them home. The whole company worked 
with all the energy and strength they possessed. 
They were particularly desirous to find the rudder 
which had been beaten ofl* by the ice many months 
before, and after a great amount of severe toil, they 
* Fester. 



100 DIFFICULTIES MULTIPLY. 

discovered this important article, and hoisted it on 
deck ; they also got the anchor on board, and, to 
their great joy, found the vessel much less injured 
than they had feared. At the time they run her 
upon the shore they bored holes in her bottom for 
the purpose of letting in water, which, by freezing, 
might increase her weight, keep her steady, and 
thus render her less liable of being lifted and dashed 
to pieces upon the rocks. Tliese holes they now 
found, and at low water, succeeded in closing them. 
They also found both of the pumps choked up with 
ice. These they thawed out, and then used them 
in pumping the water out of the vessel. On the 
last day of April, they were favored with a sign of 
the approach of spring, in the falling of rain. 

The men hailed this favorable indication with 
great joy, as it furnished them with grounds of hope 
of a speedy departure for their own land. They 
had become heartily wearied of the barrenness, cold- 
ness and suffering of the frozen north, and were fill- 
ed w^ith gladness when the rain indicated that their 
release was at hand. Their joy, however, was of 
short duration, for on the second of May the atmos- 
phere was filled with snow, and the weather was ex- 
tremely cold. By this sudden blighthig of their 
hopes, the men were greatly depressed. The dis- 
orders of the sick increased to such a degree that 
they fainted away whenever they were raised from 



THE SICK RECOVEIUNG. 101 

their bed. Large flocks of geese and cranes now 
visited the island, but they were too discreet to allow 
the men to come within musket-shot of them. On 
the 24th of the month, the party were startled by 
a loud noise resembling thunder, which they soon 
discovered was occasioned by the breaking up of 
the heavy ice in the bay. Though at that time the 
sun Avas hot in the day, the water froze at night. 
On the last day of the month they found a few 
vetches — a pod-bearing plant — which they gathered 
and prepared for the sick. During the whole of 
May the wind blew chiefly from the north, and 
on the four first days of June, they had storms of 
snow, sleet and hail. So severe was the cold m that 
month, that their newly-washed clothes were frozen 
stifl" on the line, and ice was formed in pitchers 
within the house. On the 9th the sick had so far 
recovered as to be able to creep about the house. 
Some who had been but slightly diseased, had be- 
come comparatively strong. The green vetch leaves 
had produced a favorable effect. They *vere in the 
habit of eating them twice a day, dressed with 
vinegar and oil. They also bruised them and mix- 
ed the juice with their drink. Some preferred to 
eat them raw with their bread. On the 11th they 
adjusted their rudder in its proper place, and cast 
out the ballast of the ship. By the 15th, those who 
were on the sick list were so far recovered that 
9* 



102 HOMEWARD DEPARTURE. 

they could walk about. Their teeth were no longer 
loose, nor their gums sore, so that they could eat 
their vetches with beef, which we may suppose was 
none of the most tender. The water of the bay 
continued full of ice. On the 16th not only were 
there thunder and liglitning, but the weather was 
so hot that the men went m bathmg to cool and 
cleanse themselves. The ^\'arm weather brought 
out an immense number of musquitoes, which prov- 
ed to be great plagues. They w^ere accompanied 
with ants and frogs. But birds, bears and foxes 
had totally disappeared. Finally, on the 20th, they 
got the ship afloat in deep w^ater, although plenty 
of ice surrounded it. The sailors now eno-as^ed with 
alacrity in rigging the ship, and getting on board 
their provisions, clothes and other necessaries. All 
things being ready, on the second day of July they 
set out on their return, parting with their ice cov- 
ered dwelling and store, but without the least emo- 
tion of regret. At Cape Henrietta Maria they gave 
variety to their employment by landing and engag- 
ing in the chase after some stags, which they saw 
there. But neither dogs or men could overtake 
them. They were probably too much weakened 
by their privations during the winter, to run with 
any great speed. With the fowl they were more 
fortunate, having obtained half a dozen geese. Al- 
though it was now mid-summer, yet so great Wviu 



JAMES'S OPINIONS. 103 

the quantity of ice in the bay as to subject them to 
very great labor in working through it. However, 
by perse vermg through many discouragements, they 
finally succeeded in reaching Carey's Swan's Nest, 
and then Nottingham Island. Their stock of pro- 
visions being hmited, and their old crazy vessel leaky, 
the captain as well as the men were anxious to hurry 
homeward. They did not therefore stay to make 
any further discoveries. James was the less inclined 
to linger any longer, because he was of opinion that 
no outlet to the north-west could be found there. 
He based this conclusion upon the following reasons : 
" First, because the tide in every part of this sea 
comes from the east through Hudson's Straits, and 
the further it goes the later it arrives at every place 
within the strait and bay. Secondly, because these 
seas contain no small fish, such as cod, stockfish, etc., 
and few large ones, which likewise are seldom seen. 
Neither are there any whale-bones nor any sear 
horses, or other large fish found on the shore ; nor 
is there any drift-wood here. Thirdly, because 
the ice in 65° 30' north latitude, lies in large 
fields, or flakes on the sea, because it is generated 
in the flat bays, but if there was a great ocean 
further on, nothing but large mountains of ice would 
be found, such as are at the entrance of Hudson's 
Straits, and further on to the eastward. Fourthly, 
and lastly, because the ice drives eastward through 



104 JAMES'S KEASONING INCONCLUSIYE. 

the straits into the great ocean by reason that it 
comes from the north and has no other way to go 
out by." James therefore steered at once for Eng- 
land, and arrived at Bristol on the 22d of October 
1632. 

The argument of Captain James against an out- 
let from Hudson's Bay to the north or the north- 
west, are far from being conclusive. Indeed, some 
of them w^ere based upon false premises. His first 
reason was true only in its application to certain 
parts of the bay — particularly the southern portion 
where he wintered. But at Sir Thomas Roe's 
Welcome, in the north-western part of the bay, the 
tide rose higher than it did at the mouth of Hud- 
son's Straits. His second reason was shown false 
by Captain Cox, who saw many whales and sea- 
unicorns in the bay. His last reason furnishes an 
argument against his own conclusion, for as there 
is always large quantities of water coming from the 
north, which breaks the ice in the bay, and drives 
it out eastward through Hudson's Straits, this 
would seem to indicate that there was an influx in 
some quarter from the north, pouring its waters 
into the bay and compelling them to find an outlet 
through Hudson's Straits, 



CHAPTER VIII. 

De Groselie— Information from the Ottawas— Hunters and Trappers— Da 
Vries's Voyage— Smelling the Land— A dreadful Scene— Its Perpetrators 
unknown— The Particulars— Effects of Confidence— Indian Treachery 
and Eevenge— Peace concluded— Beans wanted— Startling Intelligence 
— Boat's Crew murdered— A suspicious Circumstance— Cliief's Visit- 
Gifts given and refused— A Peach-tree found— Interview with the 
English— Seven Whales taken— Whaling unprofitable. 

Captains Fox and James were not the only ones 
who, about that time, made explorations at the 
north. A Canadian named De Groselie, a man of 
an adventurous and persevering spirit, who had 
traveled extensively through various parts of 
Canada, had learned from the Ottawa Indians the 
existence of a great bay to the north. When he 
returned to Quebec he aroused a number of his 
countrymen to an attempt to reach this bay by 
water. They joined together, fitted o^t a bark, 
and soon after set sail. After meeting with the 
usual incidents of a sea-voyage to the north, they 
entered a river which the Indians called the Tearing 
Stream, probably because its water was torn and 
rendered wild and turbulent by rocks and rapids in 
its course, " and which is situated but one league 



106 I>E GROSELTE. 

from Port Nelson River, called by the French Riv 
iere de Bourbon. He fixed his residence on the 
south side, on an island, three leagues up the river. 
The Canadians, who were good sportsmen, arrived 
length, in the midst of winter, at Port Nelson 
River, and there discovered a settlement of Eu- 
ropeans. He therefore went thither, with his peo- 
ple, in order to attack them, but found only a 
miserable hut, covered with turf, and containing 
six halfstarved people." It appeared that these 
miserable men, wdiora De Groselie was about to 
attack, had belonged to a ship from Boston in New 
England, and had been put on shore to discover a 
convenient place where the whole crew might safely 
pass the winter. After they had landed, the ship 
to which they belonged was driven by the wind 
and ice, out to sea, and they had heard nothing 
from her since. Left, as they must have been, 
without food, fuel, or extra clothing, their condi- 
tion must have been severely painful. It is left for 
the imagination to conceive what must have been 
their suspense, their hopes and fears, as day after 
day passed away without bringing any tidings of 
the missing vessel, and what must have been their 
despair when they abandoned the expectation of 
ever seeing her again. 

The same winter De Grosehe received informal 
tion that about seven leagues from his residence, a 



HUNTERS AND TRAPPERS. -0'/ 

company of Englishmen had formed a settlement 
on the banks of Port Nelson River. He resolved 
to make war upon them, and either drive them off 
or take them prisoners. But having learned that 
the place of their residence was fortified, he con- 
cluded to delay his attack upon them until some 
English holiday arrived, when they would prob- 
ably be indulging in merry-making and carousal, 
and so be off their guard. Accordingly, on Twelfth 
Day, he marched upon them, with fourteen French- 
men, and, to his great joy, he found the English so 
intoxicated that, though they numbered eighty, 
they were unable to offer the least defense ; so he 
made them all prisoners, and thus became master 
of all that country. Not long after this, in 1669, 
the Hudson's Bay Company was formed in England, 
to whom was given the monopoly of mining, hunt- 
ing, and trading, within a very large extent of 
country in the vicinity of Hudson's Bay. They 
formed friendly relations with the Indians, engaged 
in trading with them, and from them obtained, in 
the course of a few years, large quantities of beaver, 
deer, and elk skins, for which they paid in the cheap 
trifles and productions of European manufactures. 
They also engaged hunters and trappers from civil- 
ized nations, who were allowed to hunt, upon certain 
conditions, on the lands, and along the streams, 
belonging to the company ; one of which was that 



108 DE VRIES. 

the skins which they obtained should be disposed 
of to the Company, It proved to be an extremely 
profitable corporation. 

While the adventures which we have narrated 
were transpiring in the cold and dreary north, and 
(yaptains Fox nnd James were endeavoring to find 
gome channel through which they might thread 
their way from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, 
and thus shorten the distance between Europe and 
the remote spice regions of Cathay, another enter- 
prising navigator was })ushing his investigations fur- 
ther south, and endeavoring to find a convenient 
place to establish a pei-manent settlement on land, 
as yet unoccupied by any Eui-opean nation. This 
was David Pieterszen de Yries.* 

De Vries was a bold, skillful, and experienced 

* Mr. Bancroft, in a note to his History of the United States, 
vol. ii., p, 282, says: "The only copy which I have seen of 
the voyage of De Yries, in the original language, is to be found 
in vol. i. of the Du Simitiere MSS., in the Philadelphia library. 
T)r. Julius, of Hamburg, has discovered in the royal library at 
Dresden, Saxony, a printed copy. The book escaped the re- 
search of Ebeling, and was not discovered by Lanabreclisten. 
For the use of an Enghsh MS. translation, I am indebted to the 
great liberality of J. W. Moulton." This translation was made 
from the original Dutch, by Dr. G. Troost of Philadelphia. It 
has since been published in the " Collection of the New York 
Historical Society. New Series, vol. i.," and from it we have 
drawn up our narrat.ve. As the information which it contains 
will be new to many of our readers, we shall give it with con- 
siderable minuteness. 



COLONY ESTABLISHED. 109 

navigator. He liad formed an acquaintance with 
the cUmate, the commerce, and the people of the 
East Indies, by voyages that he had made there. 
After returning from there, he met with Samuel 
Godyn, a distinguished merchant of Amsterdam, 
Avho offered him an opportunity of visiting North 
America, under what was then considered favor- 
able auspices. He accepted the offer, and entered 
into an agreement or " patronship" with Godyn, 
Killian Van Rensselaer, Samuel Bloemart, and Jan 
de Laet, who were all, by the terms of their agree- 
ment, " placed on an equal footing." Their object 
was twofold : to establish colonies in wdiat was tlien 
called "New Netherlands," extending from the for- 
tieth to the forty-fifth degree of north latitude, and 
to engage in the whale fishery in the vicinity of the 
Delaware River, where whales were supposed to be 
abundant. 

Accordingly, on December 12th, 1630, De Vries 
sailed from Texel for the Delaware, which, at that 
time was called the South River, to disthiguish it 
from the Hudson, which was called the North 
River. He was accompanied by about thirty emi- 
grants, who were to constitute the new colony. 
They successfully reached Delaware Bay, sailed up 
the river, and just within Cape Henlopen, where 
Lewdstown now stands, they established the new set- 
tlement, that region of country being then calh;d 
10 



110 SMELLING THE LAND. 

Swan's Dale. A block house was built, palisades 
w^ere erected, and agriculture commenced. De 
Vries left them with the expectation that they 
would become a permanent plantation, and returned 
home. The next year he came back, not to inquire 
after their welfare — for intelligence had reached him 
that a dreadful catastrophe had occurred, by which 
the whole colony had been swept away — but to as- 
certain particulars, traffic with the natives, and visit 
other colonies. 

December 1st, 1632, he found himself near the 
coast of America, in lifty-seven fathoms of water. 
They could plainly smell the fragrant odor of the 
underbrush, as it was borne to them from the fires 
which the Indians kindle<l at that season of the 
year, in order to render the woods and country 
more favorable for hunting. " We smell the land, 
therefore, before it can be seen." When between 
the latitudes of thirty-four and forty, with the water 
at thirteen fathoms, they had a view of the coast. 
On the 5th, they entered Delaware Bay ; they were 
accompanied by a whale playing around them, 
*^ We promised ourselves," says De Yries, " great 
things ; plenty of whales, and good land for culti- 
vation." 

The next day they took the boat, and being well 
armed, in order to protect themselves against the 
Indians, if they should be attacked, they passed up 



A DREADFUL TRAGEDY. Ill 

the river, and examined the place where the httle 
colony had been left the year before. It presented 
a melancholy scene. The blockhouse was destroyed, 
the parapets burned, and the ground scattered over 
with the skulls and bones of their murdered country- 
men. That this dreadful tragedy had been perform- 
ed by the savages, there was but little if any doubt ; 
but as to the cause which led to it, or the circum- 
stances attending it, they were left in impenetrable 
darkness. It was now the policy of De Yries to 
discover, if he could, all the facts in the case ; for 
this purpose he was anxious to obtain an interview 
with some of the natives. After gazing upon these 
affecting memorials as long as they desired, the 
company returned to the vessel, pondering wdth sad 
emotions upon the untimely end of these adventur- 
ous pioneers. After they reached the ship, De Vries 
ordered a gun to be fired, to see if any of the In- 
dians would show themselves. The next day two 
or three were seen near the ruins of the blockhouse. 
They refused to approach the ship, but signified 
that they wanted to receive a visit. The next day 
being December 8th, " We went in the yacht," says 
De Vries, " up the creek to tlie house. The Indians 
came on shore, but would not at first come on board. 
At last one came. I gave him a dress of cloth, and 
we told him we wished to make peace with them. 
There now came more Indians, who expected also 



112 INDIAN'S STATEMENT. 

a dress, but we gave them only some trinkets, and 
told them that we had presented the other with a 
dress, because he had shown more confidence in us, as 
being the first that ventured to enter the boat. We 
told them to come the next day with their chief, 
whom they called Sakimas, with whom we would 
make a satisfactory peace, which they called Ran- 
contynmarenit. One of the Indians remained ^^-ith 
us durinoj the niofht in the yacht." De Vries took 
advantage of the prolonged, confiding visit of this 
one, to inquire concerning the particulars of the 
fate of the destroyed colony, the account of which, 
as it is the only early statement known to exist in 
our language, we will give in his own words: "We 
asked him the reason why they had killed our people. 
He showed us a place where our people had emp- 
tied a pillow, to which was attached a piece of tin 
upon which was figured the emblem of Holland. 
One of their chiefs wanted to take this piece of tin 
to make of it tobacco-pipes, not knowing that it was 
improper. Those who had the command at the 
house showed much dissatisfaction, so that the In- 
dians did not know how to make amends. They 
went away and killed the chief who had taken the 
tin, and brought a token of it to those who had the 
command at the house, who told them they had 
done wrong, that they ought to have come with 
him to the house, and they would have only told 



INDIAN REVENGE. 113 

him, not to do so again. They then went away; 
but the friends of the murdered chief (the people 
having much the character of the Italians, who are 
greatly addicted to vengeance) had resolved to be 
revenged. They attacked our people when they 
were working in the field, leaving but a single sick 
man in the house, and a large bull-dog, which was 
chained out of doors. The man who had command 
of the house stood near the door. Three of the 
boldest Indians, who were to perpetrate the deed, 
came and offered him a parcel of beavers to barter, 
and contrived to enter the house. He went in with 
them to transact the business. That being done, 
he Avent to a garret where the stores were. Com- 
ing down, one of the Indians cleaved his head with 
an axe, so that he dropped dead on the floor. They 
then murdered the sick man and then went to the 
dog, which they feared most, and shot at least twen- 
ty-five arrows at him before he was killed. They 
then went in a treacherous manner to the people in 
the field, approaching them under the appearance 
of friendship, and murdered one after the other." 
Thus fatally terminated the existence of the little 
colony on the Delaware. The trouble was occasion- 
ed by the indiscretion of the Indians in murdering 
the chief who had taken the piece of tin, which per- 
haps had been hung up as evidence that the Dutch 
had taken possession of th^ country. This kindled 
10^- 



]14 SEEKING BEANS. 

tlie fire of revenge in the bosom of the murdored 
chiet^s friends, which could not be extinguished ex- 
cept with the blood of the whites. 

On the 9th the chief of the place visited De 
Vries, accompanied by many of his tribe. They 
arranged themselves in a circle, entered upon ne- 
gotiations, and concluded a peace. De Yries 
thought it best to ask no satisfaction for the slaugh- 
ter of the colonists, nor even to make the least 
allusion to it ; for knowing the migratory habits of 
the natives, he was aware that if they refused to 
render satisfaction, it would not be in his power to 
inflict upon them what might be regarded as de- 
served punishment, and therefore it would be more 
prudent not to refer to the subject at all. He there- 
fore ignored the whole matter. 

He presented them some blankets, bullets, axes, 
and toys, for which they promised to reciprocate by 
giving in return some game, which they had re- 
cently taken. 

As the Dutch expected great success in catching 
whales, they now made preparation for lodging on 
land, and boiling the oil. 

On the first day of the new year he ascended the 
Delaware Kiver in the yacht, to obtain, if possible, 
some beans from the Indians. His hopes of suc- 
cessful fishery were kept up by seeing a whale in 
the Bay. Four days afterward he visited a small 



STARTLING INTELLIGENCE. 115 

fort which had been erected by the Dutch in 1623, 
a few miles below the present site of Philadelphia, 
on the east bank of the Delaware, and called " Fort 
Nassau." It was now unoccupied, the attempt at 
-♦olonizing here being abandoned. He here met 
vith a few Indians, who had some furs which they 
purposed to exchange for European commodities ; 
but as De Vries's stock of goods was limited, he 
was unwilling to part with any thing, except for 
beans, especially as he had made them presents at 
Swan's Dale when they negotiated peace. Being 
either unable or im willing to supply them with 
beans, the Indians advised them to go to the Tim- 
merkill, now called Cooper's Creek. The prudent 
counsels which were at the same time given them 
by an Indian woman, were probably the means of 
preserving their excursion from reaching a tragic 
and perhaps fatal termination. She warned them 
not to go up to Tinimerkill, because they would be 
attacked. Having received this important informa- 
tion, they were anxious for more, and therefore 
gave her a dress of cloth, to induce her to tell all 
she knew. She then told them that a boat's crew, 
which had ascended the Count Ernest River, hacj 
all been murdered. Although this intelligence did 
not induce De Vries to relinquish the attempt of 
reaching the Timmerkili, it made him more cautious 
and vigilant, and induced him to adopt a different 



116 INDIAN PLOT DEFEATED. 

tone in his dealings witli the natives there from 
what he otherwise would have indulged. 

He readied the Timmerkill next day, fully pre- 
pared for any emergency. It was not long before 
a large party of Roodehoek or Mantes Indians ap- 
proached the boat, bringing with tliem beaver skins 
to barter. Over forty of them entered the yacht, 
the crew of which numbered only seven. Some of 
these natives began to play on a rude musical instru- 
ment, like a flute, so as to prevent awakening sus- 
picion. Others loitered carelessly around, and 
others made proposals of trade. After a while De 
Vries thought it best for them to withdraw, and ac- 
cordingly ordered them all off, at the same time 
threatening, if they did not comply, that he would 
fire on them. This induced one of the chiefs to 
offer an armful of beaver skins to them. But the 
Dutch refused them, and ordered them peremptor- 
ily ashore, stating that Mantes — the Indian name 
for the Evil One — had revealed to them that they 
intended some wickedness against them. The In- 
dians then thought it best to retire, and accord- 
ingly withdrew to the shore. So that, if any 
villainous plot had been arranged by them, it was 
entirely defeated through the vigilance and decision 
of De Vries. A circumstance which increased the 
suspicion of the captain, and gave weight to the 
testimony of the woman, concerning the bad char- 



VISIT OF INDIAN GRIEFS. 117 

acter of these fellows was, that some of them word 
English jackets. As these Avere never made an 
article of barter with the natives, it is difficult to 
conceive how these Indians came, honestly, in the 
possession of them. If they had ever murdered a 
boat's crew as the woman had said, they might 
have stolen them then. 

The next morning the captain again presented 
himself in the stream before the fort, which wag 
soon crowded with Indians, who kept increasing 
more and more. A canoe put ofi* the shore to the 
yacht, carrying nine chiefs from different places, 
among whom was one of those who, the day before, 
had worn an English jacket, which, however, he 
had laid aside now, perhaps m order to avoid ex- 
citing suspicion, or being questioned concerning it. 
" They sat down in a circle, and called for us, say- 
ing that they saw that we were in fear of them ; 
that they came on purpose to conclude a permanent 
peace with us, presented us with ten beaver-skins, 
the gift of every one being accompanied with some 
ceremonies, saying at the same time in whose iiame 
it was given, as a token of eternal peace ; and that 
we iriist now banish all suspicion, as they had re- 
jected all evil thoughts. I then oifered them, by 
the translator, some pi-esents for each, consisting of 
an ax, adze, and a pair of small knives ; but these 
they refused, saying that they did not give their 



118 DE YKIES VISITS VIRGINIA. 

presents to receive others in the place of them, but 
in order to make peace. We told them that we 
would give them something for their wives; but 
they told us we must give it them on shore. On 
the 9th and 10th got some Indian corn and furs on 
barter of them." 

Ten days after this he ascended a fine stream ; 
iound the country beautifully diversified with ro- 
mantic scenery, and, as many luxuriant vines with 
their rich clusters ornamented the sides of the nar- 
row river through which he Avas sailing, he gave it 
the appropriate name of " Vine Creek." 

It was the desire of De Yries to explore the 
Delaware much further than he had done, but as he 
could not obtain sufiicient provision from the In- 
dians to meet his wants, he concluded to make a 
voyage to the English setlemeut in Virginia, in 
hopes of finding a supjily there. On his way thither 
he noticed that the land was in a more advanced 
and settled state. He saw, for the first time, a 
peach-tree (one would suppose from this, that the 
peach-tree was indigenous.) He had an interview 
with the Governor of Virginia, Avho, when he 
learned that his Dutch visitor had come from the 
South River, took occasion to inform him that this 
river was the property of the English ; that some 
time before, Lord Delaware had entered and taken 
possession of it, but as he found it diflicult of navi- 



TAKING WHALES. ^1^ 

gfition in consequence of numerous sand-banks, he 
did not ascend it. He also told him that he had 
sent a sloop there, but as it had never returned he 
thought that it must have been lost at sea with all 
on board. De Vries replied to his excellency, that 
he was mistaken; that the South or Delaware River 
had for many years belonged to the Dutch, who 
Vad erected a fort on one of its banks, that it was a 
uoble stream, and easily navigable. He also in- 
formed the governor that the Indians on that river 
had told him that the crew of an English boat had 
been murdered there, and that their clothing he had 
«een worn by the natives. 

The interview seems, on the whole, to have been 
a pleasant one, for, at its conclusion, the governor 
gave De Vries six goats to be introduced into his 
new colony. After purchasing a supply of provisions, 
the captain returned, to the Delaware, and found 
that those who had been left there to prosecute the 
whale fishery had taken seven whales, which had 
furnished thirty-two cartels of oil. This, however, 
was such a poor return for the amount of money 
which had been invested in the business, as to show 
that the enterprise was unprofitable. After this, 
De Vries made several voyages to the Dutch set- 
tlements in New York. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Gustavus Adolphus— His plans of Emigration— A War defeats them- 
Deception of the Swedish Governor — Fort Casiiner taken by Treachery — 
Goveriror Stuyvesant attacks Delaware — Rumors of a Silver Mountain— 
An Indian brings Ore— He is Assassinated — The English conquer the 
Dutch— Children stolen by the Savages — Their Redemption-price ia 
Tobacco— Commercial Regulations — Famous Navigation Act. 

In 1626, Gustavus Aclolphns, King of Sweden, 
who had received very glowing descriptions of the 
sahibrity of the climate, the fertility of the soil, and 
the romantic character of the scenery of New 
Netherlands, published an address to his subjects, 
earnestly urging them to associate together for the 
purpose of forming a settlement m this charming 
country of the New World. His address awakened 
great attention among the Swedes; led to much 
conversation, in which the project was probably 
fully discussed on both sides, and resulted in the 
adoption of measures for raising a fund by volun- 
tary subscription for the object. Persons of all 
classes became interested in the enterprise. An ad- 
miral, vice-admiral, merchants, assistants, commis- 
saries, and a military force, were duly appointed. 



deceptio:n of risingh. 121 

It seemed as if every arrangement was made for 
the establishment of a permanent and flourisliing 
colony ; but the difficulties occasioned by the out- 
breaking of a German war suspended the opera- 
tions. 

In the course of a few years, several different set- 
tlements were formed on the Delaware by tho 
Dutch and the Swedes, who held the country hi 
common, until the erection of a fort by the Dutch 
at Sandhocken, now called Newcastle, excited the 
ano-er of the Swedes, and led to hostilities. The 
Swedish governor, Risingh, demanded that this 
fort, which had been named Fort Casimer, should 
be delivered to him ; the Dutch, of course, refused. 
Risingh then resolved to obtain possession of it, 
either by force or fraud. For this purpose he ap- 
proached it under the garb of friendship. Having 
arrived in a boat opposite to the fort, he honored it 
by firing two military salutes. By this deception 
the Dutch were effectually thrown off their guard. 
Risingh then landed thirty men, whom the Dutch, 
in the simplicity of their hearts, received within 
their gates as friends. When once in, the Swedes 
threw off their mask, revealed their true object, 
overpowered the unsuspecting Dutch, seized tho 
stores, ammunition, and merchandise of the place, 
and even compelled some of the conquered Dutch 
to disown their native country, and swear allegiance 
11 



122 STUYVES ant's victories. 

to the Swedish Queen. Fort Casimer was now in 
the possession of the Swedes. 

When the news of this outrage reached the re- 
doubted Stuyvesant, who was then Governor of 
New York, he resolved to inflict instant and fear- 
ful vengeance. As there were several different 
Swedish settlements on the Delaware, it was the 
intention of Stuyvesant, under direction of the 
home government, to sweep them all away, and 
take possession of the whole of that country. After 
considerable time was spent in collecting his forces, 
and completing his arrangements, the Dutch gov- 
ernor presented himself in the Delaware, with seven 
vessels, and nearly seven hundred men. The 
Swedes were alarmed, but could not arrest the pro- 
gress of this invading fleet. Stuyvesant first at- 
tacked and took possession of Elsinborg. He then 
advanced upon the fort of the Holy Trinity. After 
landing his men, and protecting them behind in- 
trenchments, he demanded the surrender of the 
place, threatening, in case of refusal, the severest 
treatment known in war. The fort capitulated, and 
soon the flas^ of the Dutch was seen wavinsj from its 
walls, where a few minutes before the colors of the 
Swedes were gayly flaunting in the l)reeze. He 
next appeared before Fort Casimer, then under the 
command of Sven Scutz, and summoned him to 
yield. Scutz asked permission to consult with the 



DISCOVERY OF SILVER ORE. 123 

governor before replying. Stuyvesant was in no 
mood to comply with this request, and therefore 
denied him the privilege of the desired conference. 
Believing that a conflict would result only in a use- 
less shedding of blood, Scutz made an honorable 
surrender. He was permitted to march out in 
military array, to retain the arms of his troops, and 
the battery of the fort. Thus Fort Casimer was 
retaken, and probably some of the old Dutch gar- 
rison replaced there. Stuyvesant then passed on to 
another fortress stronger that of Casimer, and 
called Christina. It was under the command of 
Risingh himself. He, being equally nnable with the 
the others, to resist the invincible Dutchman, soon 
followed their example and submitted. All that 
now remained to the Swedes was New Gottenburg, 
with its fort and church, but when this was sub- 
dued, which occurred soon after, the provincial 
power of New Sweden was eifectually destroyed, 
and the Dutch obtained possession of the Dela- 
ware. 

It was said the Swedes discovered some valuable 
gold and silver mines in Delaware. The account 
given by Lindstrom in liis manuscript journal, as 
quoted by Gordon, is as follows : "The shore before 
the mountahi is covered with pyrites. When the 
roundest are broken, kernels are found as large as 
small peas, containing virgin silver. I have broken 



124 GOLD ORE OBTAINED. 

more than a hundred. A savage Unapois beholding' 
a gold nng of the wife of Governor Prmtz, demand- 
ed why she carried such a trifle. The Governor re- 
plied, ' If you will procure me such trifles, I will 
reward you with other things suitable for you.' ' I 
know,' said the Indian, 'a mountain filled with 
such metal.' ' Behold,' rejoined the Governor, 
' what I will give you for a specimen,' presenting 
to him at the same time a fathom of red and a fath- 
om of blue frieze, some w^hite-lead, looking-glasses, 
bodkins and needles, declaring that he would cause 
him to be accompanied by two of his soldiers. But 
the Indian refusing this escort, said that he would 
first go for a specimen, and if it gave satisfaction 
he might then be sent back with some of the gov- 
ernor's people. He promised to give a specimen, 
kept the presents, and went away. Afi:er some days 
he returned with a lump of ore as large as his 
doubled fist, of which the Governor made proof, 
found it of good quality, and extracted from it a con- 
siderable quantity of gold, which he manufactured 
into rings and bracelets. He promised the Indian 
further presents if he would discover the situation 
of this mountain. The Indian consented, but de- 
manded a delay of a few days, when he could spare 
more time. Content with this Printz gave him 
more presents. The savage, having returned lo hid 
nation, boasted of his gifts, and declared the roason 



INDIAN OUTRAGES 125 

of their presentation. But he was assassinated by 
the sachem and his companions, lest he should be- 
tray the situation of the gold mine, they fearing its 
ruin if it were discovered by us. It is still unknown." 
It is not unlikely that what was supposed to be gold 
was pyrites, which is composed of sulphur, iron, 
copper and cobalt, or nickel, and which presents a 
yellowish golden lustre. It has often been mistaken 
for the precious metal, and has awakened high hopes 
which were destined in a short time to be utterly 
blasted. 

In the year 1664 the English, who for a long time 
had been jealous of the encroachments of the Dutch, 
came upon them with a considerable army, and sub- 
jugated them to British rule. This led to an Europ- 
ean war between these two nations, and at its close 
the English held all the places which they had taken, 
previous to the outbreak of the European conflict. 

To return again to Maryland, we find that the 
colonists there were frequently harassed by the In- 
dians. Laws were passed against them ; companies 
were recruited to go upon their settlements and 
punish them for their cruelties. They stole what- 
ever property they could lay their hands on ; they 
murdered the men whom they found straying from 
the towns, and kidnapped children for the purpose 
of receiving for them a high ransom. 

On one occasion two children of Mr. Thomas 
11^^ 



126 CHILDEEN STOLEN. 

Allen were seized by these savages and carriecJ 
away. So soon as it was known, the whole colony 
were greatly excited, and measures were speedily 
adopted to ascertain where they were taken and by 
what means they could be recovered. Inquiiies 
were sent to the Indians, and ere long it was dis- 
covered that they had not been put to death, but 
were held as captives. It was then asked whether 
they could be ransomed ; the reply of the savages 
was, that they would be restored upon the payment 
of fifteen hundred pounds of tobacco. A circum- 
stance which rendered this case more affecting was, 
that these unfortunate children were fatherless. 
Mr. Allen had died some time before, and the little 
property which he left was not sufficient to redeem 
them from bondage. Their case was therefore pre- 
sented to the provincial court, which, after hearing 
the facts, referred it to the Assembly. The disposi- 
tion, which this latter body made of these children 
reflects no honor upon their generosity. Of the fif- 
teen hundred pounds of tobacco, which was asked 
as the redemption price, nine hundred was to be 
paid for the oldest and six hundred for the youngest. 
The order by the Assembly was, that " the said two 
children should serve any inhabitant of the province 
till they attain to their several ages of twenty one 
years, as the provincial court shall think fit; such 
inhabitant paying the said charge of their redemp- 



FAMOUS NAVIGATION ACT. 127 

tion." According to this order the children were 
to be bound out, until they were twenty-one years 
old, to any person in the province who would pay 
the amount required for their ransom. It was equiv- 
alent to hiring the children for that amount imtil 
they were of age. The reason assigned for this 
singular order m so peculiar a case was, that " the 
public charge this year being like to be very great 
and burdensome." 

As the colonies in America increased, they culti- 
vated the land, and extended their trade with the 
Indians, and in these ways were enabled to send to 
England a considerable amount of merchandise of 
the natural productions of the country. This gave 
employment to vessels and men. But as the Hol- 
landers, or Dutch, would transport freight across 
the Atlantic at a lower rate than the English, they 
monopolized nearly all the carrying ti-ade. English 
merchants themselves employed Dutch vessels. 
Thus English ships, for want of employment, were 
going to decay at the wharves, and English sailors 
were compelled to enter the service of the Dutch. 

The English Parliament, in order to arrest a state 
of things so ruinous to their commerce, passed what 
has been termed " the famous Navigation Act," the 
leading feature of which was: "That no merchandise 
either of Asia, Africa, or America^ including also the 
English plantations there, should be imported into 



128 DUTCH COMMERCE DESTROYED. 

England in any but English built ships, and belong, 
ing either to English, or English plantation, sub- 
jects, navigated also by an English commander, and 
three fourths of the sailors to be Englishmen." By 
this act the business of the Dutch, as carriers of 
freight between the English colonies and the 
mother-country, was effectually destroyed, and a 
fresh impetus given to the emj^loyment of English 
vessels and men for that purpose. 



CHAPTER X. 

A remarkable Fact-Political Troubles— Seizure of Armsaud AmmanUloii 
Resisting Authority-The Governor's Protest-A noble Resolution-A 
Boat seized-Terrific Tlireatenings-A Council of War-The Golden 
Lion— A deceptive Trick— Stoue fired upon— A Battle-The Victory- 
The Prisoners-The first Account sent Home-Eecouciliation between 
Protestants and Catholics. 

The efforts AYliich were made by Lord Baltimore, 

at different times, to increase tlie number of his 

colonies, proved successful, though some of the 

emigrants occasioned him no small amount of 

trouble. Indeed, it is a remarkable fact, that 

though Maryland was originally settled as a Roman 

Catholic colony, in order to provide, among other 

objects, a safe retreat from persecution for the 

Cathohcs in the mother-country, and though its 

proprietary and principal officers were, at first, of 

that rehgious persuasion, yet in the course of a few 

years the controlUng power passed from them into 

the hands of the Protestants. Two important 

events occurred which proved fatal to the political 

power of the Catholics in Maryland ; the first was 

the great increase of the Puritans there, especially 

after they had been driven by persecution from 



130 POLITICAL TROUBLES. 

Virginia, and the other was the seizure by the 
Puritans of the reins of government in England, 
under the administration of OUver Cromwell. 

At the time of Cromwell's elevation to the 
supreme power of England, Mr. Stone was gover- 
nor of Maryland. In 1654 he was compelled, mainly 
through the influence of the Puritans, to relinquish 
his oftice, which he held under Lord Baltimore, in 
order that the colony might be governed by com- 
missioners under the Lord Protector of England, 
as Cromwell was called. 

When intelligence of this state of things reached 
England, Lord Baltimore was, as might be expected, 
greatly displeased. lie wrote to Stone, censuring 
him for his conduct. He was also informed that 
Cromwell had not taken from Lord Baltimore 
either his patent or his lands. It followed from 
this representation that those who had compelled 
the governor to relinquish his office had acted with- 
out authority. Stone was stimulated to resume 
his position as governor. He at once began to 
appoint military officers and organize an armed 
force for the purpose of strengthening himself in 
the government. 

Among the commissioners who had assisted in 
the previous overthrow of Stone, were Captain 
Fuller and Mr. Richard Preston, the latter of 
whom had possession of the records of the provin ce. 



SEIZURE OF ARMS. 131 

These records Governor Stone caused to be seized 
by a company of soldiers whom he sent to the 
Patuxent river (where Preston lived) for that pm*- 
pose. This bold and decisive act led to fatal hos- ^ 
tilities. When this seizure of the recoids was 
made known to the Council of Commissioners, they 
sent messengers to make peaceful inquiries of Stone 
as to his authority for his conduct. " But the said 
Captain Stone, instead of giving a satisfactory an- 
swer, imprisoned the messengers, and in much 
wrath and fury said he would show no power ; at 
last he affirmed that he acted by authority from 
Lord Baltimore, and that the Lord Protector had 
confirmed the Lord Baltimore's power. 'If so, sir,' 
said one of the messengers, ' if it be confirmed, let 
that appear and it will satisfy.' ' Confirmed !' said 
Captain Stone, ' I '11 confirm it ;' and so sent them 
home."* 

In addition to the records, Mr. Preston's house 
contained a considerable amount of arms and ammu- 
nition. Governor Stone thought that safety re- 
quired the seizure of all these. He, therefore, sent 
a company of armed men, twenty in number, to 
take possession of them. They were under the 
command of William Eltonhead and Josias Fendal. 
They cautiously approached Preston's house, and 
while some, who had been appointed for that pur- 
* Strong's Babylon's Fall, in Bozman. 



132 stoxe's expedition. 

pose, surrounded it, others entered it and com- 
menced a careful search. Preston himself was no- 
where to be found. Guns, swords, and ammunition 
to the vahie of thirty pounds sterhng were discov- 
ered and seized. They then entered other houses 
in the neighborhood, and took possession of all 
weapons and ammunition that they found there. 
In addition to the seizure of these warhke stores, 
they also took prisoners Preston's deputy clerk, 
John Sutton — who had been appointed " to attend 
the records for any who should have occasion to 
use them, either for search or copy," — and also 
Peter Johnson, who held the office of lieutenant. 
These were detained as prisoners some twenty days. 
This first movement of Stone having been so 
successful, he next attempted the reduction of a 
settlement called Providence, but now known as 
Ann Arundel. For this object he collected togeth- 
er about two hundred men of St. Mary's county, 
who volunteered their services, and eleven or twelve 
small vessels to transport them across the mouth of 
the river, as they intended to march along the 
shores of the bay. The little army set out in the 
beginning of April, 1654. On their way, and 
before they had reached Herring Creek, in Ann 
Arundel county, they were met by a boat filled 
with messengers from the government at Ann 
Arundel, and bringing a letter to Governor Stone, 



ALARMING THREATS. 133 

protesting against his proceedings, and asking by 
what authority he acted, and whether he had re- 
solved to avoid all negotiation upon the subject, at 
the same time declaring " that by the help of God 
they were resolved to commit themselves into the 
hand of God and die like men, rather than live Hke 
slaves." Instead of returning any answer to this 
message. Stone seized the boat and made the mes- 
sengers prisoners. They guarded these, however, 
so negligently that three of them managed to 
escape, and carry back to the government at Ann 
Arundel an account of their treatment, and of the 
approach of Stone with a hostile' force. 

When the governor and his company of volun- 
teers arrived at Herring Creek, they found there a 
gentleman who had been appointed one of the com- 
missioners to manage the affairs of government, 
after Stone had been deposed. Him they seized 
and held as a prisoner. As Strong relates it, they 
" apprehended one of the commissioners, and forced 
another man of quality to fly for his life, having 
threatened to hang him up at his own door, and not 
finding the man, affrighted his wife, and plundered 
the house of ammunition and provision, threatenirg 
still what they would do to the people at Provi- 
dence (Ann Arundel), and that they would force the 
rebellious, factious Roundheads to submit, and then 

they would show their power." 
12 



134 A COUNCIL OF WAR. 

After this, the governor sent Dr. Barber and Mr. 
Coursey as his messengers to Ann Arundel with a 
proclamation, in which he professed he did not come 
to them to inflict upon them injury, but to bring 
them to submit quietly to his rule. When these mes- 
sengers arrived at Ann Arundel, they were per- 
mitted to read the governor's proclamation, but as 
they had nothing else to offer, they were then permit- 
ted to return. This, however, they did not do. The 
next day Stone sent another messenger; neither did 
he return, because, perhaps, the near approach of 
the army seemed to I'ender it unnecessary. As no 
measures were taken by the people of Ann Arundel 
to give in their adhesion to the government of 
Stone, the aggressive army continued their ap- 
proach, until, on the evening of the day that the 
last messenger arrived, the whole army of the gov- 
ernor, consisting, as we hav^e stated, of about two 
hundred men, and twelve vessels, presented them- 
selves in the river before the httle town, which was 
filled with excitement at this warlike array. A 
council of war was immediately called by Captain 
Fuller, to decide upon the best course of procedure 
in the trying circumstances in which they w^ere 
placed. 

In the river was a merchant ship, named the 
Golden Lyon, under the command of Captain 
Hamans. The conclusion which was reached by 



THE GOLDEN LYON. 135 

the council of war was, that Mr. William Durand, 
the secretary of the government, should go on 
board the Golden Lyon, and fasten to the main- 
mast a proclamation, directed to the captain, re- 
quiring him, " in the name of the Lord Protector 
and Commonwealth of England, and for the main- 
tenance of the just hberties, lives and estates of the 
free subjects thereof, against an unjust power, to be 
aiding and assisting in this service." Captain 
Hamans at first declined engaging in the approach- 
ing contest, but upon further reflection, he offered 
himself, ship and men, for the service, under the di- 
rection of Durand. It is supposed that Hamans 
was actually hired by the government of Ann 
Arundel to render them assistance, and that this 
nailing of the proclamation to the mainmast was 
only a piece of deception to make it appear that he 
was impressed into their service, the whole trick 
having been previously agreed upon bv those con- 
cerned. 

When the invading fleet had arrived within the 
outer harbor of Providence, a shot was fired toward 
them from the Golden Lyon, with a view, it was 
said, to induce them to send a messenger on board. 
But Stone, who regarded it as a signal of war, paid 
no attention to it, but continued to sail on with his 
fleet, until he entered the mouth of the creek, on 
the south of the peninsula upon which Annapolis 



136 GOVERNOR STONE FIRED UPON. 

now stands. He then commenced landing his 
troops, and Avbile engaged in this, the gims of the 
Golden Lyon were again opened upon him, sending 
the shot in such dangerous proximity to him that 
he considered it best to dispatch a messenger to 
the Golden Lyon, to inquire into the reason of 
the firing, and to inform the commander of the 
vessel that Governor Stone thought " the captain 
of the ship had been satisfied," from which it would 
seem that Hanians and Stone had previously had 
some communications with each other, with which 
Hamans had professed to be, or appeared to be, 
satisfied. Whatever he might have said before, he 
now replied, in a rough, blustering manner, to the 
messenger, " Satisfied witli what? I never saw any 
power Captain Stone had to do as he hath done, 
but the superscription of a letter. I must and will 
appear for these in a good cause." 

Governor Stone, as a precautionary measure, re- 
moved his vessels under the cover of the night, 
further up the creek. When this was discovered 
the other managed to place one or more vessels with 
two cannons at the mouth of the creek, and in this 
manner shut Stone in by a blockade. Soon after 
this Stone paraded his men on the shore, and while 
going through with his military exercises, the cap- 
tain of the Golden Lyon fired upon and killed one 
of their number. This compelled the miniature 



A BATTLE. 137 

army to move further off. During tliis time Cap- 
tain Fuller with a hundred and twenty men went 
further up the creek in boats, then disembarked and 
marched round to where Stone and his company 
were prepared to give them a warm reception. 
Captain Fuller hoping even to the last that Stone 
and his Marylanders might furnish some satisfactory 
reason for this invasion, ordered his men, upon pain 
of death, not to fire a gun, nor make any attack 
until they had first been fired upon by the invaders. 
The standard of the commonwealth of England, 
under which he marched, was planted in a conspic- 
uous place. At this Stone and his party fired five 
or six guns and killed one man. This was consider- 
ed by Fuller a sufticient provocation for an imme- 
diate onset. " Then the word was given, ' Li the 
name of God fall on ; God is our strength ! ' — that 
was the word for Providence. The Marylander's 
word was:— '//ey /or Saint 3Iaries: The charge 
was fierce and sharp for the time ; but through the 
glorious presence of the Lord of Hosts, manifested 
in and toward his poor oppressed people, the enemy 
could not endure, but gave back ; and were so ef 
fectually charged home that they were all routed, 
turned their backs, threw down their arms, and 
begged mercy. After the first volley of shot, a small 
company of the enemy, from behind a great tree 
fallen, galled us and wounded divers of our men, 
12-^^ 



138 THE VICTORY. 

but were soon beaten off. Of the whole company 
of the Marylanders there escaped only four or iive, 
who run away out of the army to carry news to 
their confederates. Captain Stone, Colonel Price, 
Captain Gerrard, Captain Le^\^s, Captain Kendall, 
Captain Guitter, Major Chandler, and all the rest 
of the counsellors, officers and soldiers of the Lord 
Baltimore, among whom, both commanders and sol- 
diers, a great number being Papists, were taken, and 
so were all their vessels, arms, ammunition, provision ; 
about fifty men slain and wounded. We lost only 
two on the field ; but two died since of their wounds. 
God did appear wonderful in the field, and in the 
hearts of the people ; all confessing him to be the 
only worker of this victory and deliverance." 

Such is the Puritans' account of this unfortunate 
catastrophe, and which must be received with all 
due allowance, as coming from those who were 
parties in the affair. It certainly seems remarkable 
that there was so great a disparity between the 
slain and wounded — there being fifty on one side, 
and four on the other, if the whole truth were told. 
But this was probably not the case. The account 
gives the whole number of the slain and wounded 
on the side of the Catholics in one sum, from Avhich 
we can not tell how many were slain, or how many 
were only wounded ; as it respects the Puritans, it 
states only how many were slain, but says nothing 



A PUBLIC EXECUTION. 139 

of the number of the merely wounded. This was 
not ingenious; for the casual reader would receive 
the impression that there were only four of that 
party anywise injured, while the careful reader has 
no means of showing that this impression is not 
correct. 

Another event connected with this painful colli- 
sion, and not stated in the Puritan account is, that 
after the Catholics had all yielded, and were taken 
prisoners, except the few who fled, a court-martial 
was held by the Puritans who tried the prisoners, 
sentenced ten of them to death and executed four. 
The other six who were condemned were saved by 
the incessant perseverance of certain good women, 
who continued interceding for them until their de- 
liverance was secured. They were aided by some ot 
the soldiers, who sympathized with them in their 
benevolent efforts. This execution of four prisoners 
of war, reflects no honor upon either the justice or 
the humanity of the conquerors. 

This entire defeat of the CathoHc party in their 
efforts to overthrow the Puritan administration of 
affairs, served to confirm and strengthen the Puri- 
tan government throughout the whole province. 

As Oliver Cromwell at this time was at the head 
of the affairs of England, and as the Colonies of 
Maryland were subject to the government of Eng^ 
land, each of the contending parties in the lat^ 



140 ckomwell's decisiox delayed. 

conflict were anxious to present their account of 
these transactions to Oliver as early as possible, and 
to justify their conduct before him. 

Governor Stone and his counsellors were detained 
as prisoners a considerable length of time at Ann 
Arundel, and during this period they could not, of 
course, give any account of their afiairs or conduct 
to the home government. Stone, even, was not al- 
lowed to write to his wife, except his letters were 
first examined by his conquerors. This gave the 
Puritans time to forward their account to Cromwell 
first. It has been alleged that this was their object 
in keeping the Catholics prisoners so long. 

Another measure of the victorious Puritans, 
which has received the condemnation of historians, 
was their sequestration of all the property of Gov- 
ernor Stone and those who had acted with him in 
the recent conflict. 

Although the Puritans now had the control of 
the government of Maryland, they were not des- 
tined long to hold it. Intelligence of all that had 
been done was forwarded to Lord Baltimore and 
to Oliver Cromwell. Every measure was adopted 
by both parties to secure a decision in their re- 
spective favor from the lord protector at home. 
Cromwell, however, was not inclined to enter mi- 
nutely into the matter. He referred it to others for 
examination. There was much delav in sjetting a 



COMPROMISE. 141 

decision. He seemed to treat the Puritans of Mary- 
land with coolness. The report made by those to 
whom he referred the subject was lavorable to 
Lord Baltimore. Still, Cromwell did not ratify it. 
He pleaded a want of time, arising from more press- 
ing and important affairs. The victorious party in 
Maryland became satisfied that they would not be 
protected in their administration of the govern- 
ment. The indications were that the authority of 
Lord Baltimore would, before long, become para- 
mount in Maryland. The Puritans, therefore, 
thought it would be the wiser course for them to 
effect a settlement between themselves and the 
Catholics, upon some basis of compromise that 
would be acceptable to both parties. Accord- 
ingly such a basis was drawn up, both- parties 
agreed to it, and upon its being duly signed and 
sealed, the Puritans relinquished to the Catholics 
the government of the province. Thus Lord Bal- 
timore was enabled to resume his authority in Mary, 
land, after bemg deprived of it about six years. 



CHAPTER XI. 

Peace and Prosperity— A great Country— Its possession desirable- Origin 
of the French War — Chain of Forts — Preparations for a Campaign — 
Franklin's patriotism — Braddock's arrival — George Washington be- 
comes his Aid-de-camp — "Washington Sick — A "Wagon his Hospital^ 
March of the Arm,-— A beautiful sight -An invisible, terrible Foe— An 
Indian Ambush — Surprises the Army — "Washington's Perils and Escapes 
— The Killed and Wounded — Singular IntervieAv between Washington 
and an Indian — The Indian's Story — His Iteverence for Washington. 

For a long series of years the history of Mary- 
land was marked by peace and prosperity. Vari- 
ous misfoitunes, which other American colonies 
experienced, she escaped. New settlements were 
formed, ne^v towns sprung up, new hinds were cul- 
tivated, and the number of inhabitants, so essential 
to the power and prosperity of a community, was 
greatly increased. In 1756 the population of Mary- 
land was estimated at 154,188, of whom nearly 
108,000 were whites, and over 46,000 were blacks. 

In 1754, a war broke out between the English 
and French, in which the American colonies took 
an active part, which furnished occasion for the dis- 
play of great bravery on the part of officers and 
troops from Maryland. 



ORIGIN OF THE FRENCH WAR. 143 

To the minds of thoughtful and ambitious men, 
it was evident that the acquisition of large portions 
of the American continent was extremely desirable. 
Here was a country of some thousands of miles in 
extent ; channeled by mighty rivers, that inter- 
sected it in every direction ; covered extensively 
by forests, capable of furnishing wood and timber 
to meet nearly the demands of the world ; with in- 
exhaustible stores of mineral wealth ; and a climate 
so varied as to be favorable to the productions of 
all the zones. As by the multiplicity of colonies 
which were dotting its surface, its resources were 
being developed, it is not at all surprising that the 
cupidity of individuals and nations was excited to 
obtain as large a share of these benefits as possible. 

It was natural also that the French, who were 
among the earliest explorers and settlers of the 
continent, should feel that they had a special claim 
to, at least, a generous share of the New World. 
As the French, at that time, had settlements in 
Canada and in Louisiana, the Governor of Canada 
projected the bold enterprise of connecting these 
widely separated colonies by a chain of forts, ex- 
tending along the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, and 
occupying, in some places, lands already claimed 
hy the Ejiglish. Some few years previous to this, 
there had been grants of territory, west of the 
AUeghanies, made to an association called the 



144 PEEPAEATIONS FOR WAR. 

Ohio Company. In order to increase their facilities 
for trading with the Indians, this Company erected 
a number of posts extending between the colonies 
on the Atlantic coast and the Ohio river. To these 
points the Indians were accustomed to bring their 
furs and exchange them for English toys and manu- 
factures. When the Canadian governor commenced 
the construction of his chain of forts, by which he 
intended to bind all this vast country to the throne 
of France, these trading-posts of the English pre- 
sented obstructions. Not only must they, as points 
of English jurisdiction, be removed out of the way, 
but as they occupied important locations, and were 
known to the different tribes of Indians, they must 
be destroyed, or be converted to the use of the 
French. Accordingly, these trading-posts were 
attacked by the French, taken, and j^illaged, and 
the traders made prisoners. Other positions were 
also selected and fortified, in order to keep open a 
communication between Quebec and New Orleans, 
along the line of the Alleghany, Ohio and Mississippi 
rivers. This led to an open rupture between the 
two nations, and a war was the consequence. In 
this war Maryland took an active part. She sent 
forth her brave sons, organized into companies of 
rangers and frontier guards, to assist in the protec- 
tion of the exposed border settlements, which lay 
open to the first attacks of the enraged enemy. Ip 



SUPPORT FOE DISABLED SOLDIERS. 145 

September, 1753, Ciiptain Dagworthy, Lieutenants 
Forty and Bacon, having under their commands 
two companies, departed from Annapolis, for the 
endangered western frontier. The next year some 
companies united with those of North Carolina and 
Virginia in an expedition against Fort Duquesne. 
Delay ensued in consequence of the small number 
of the troops, as compared with those of the enemy. 
Vigorous mea^sures were adopted to increase their 
number, and insure the success of the enterprise. 
All the forces which were raised to march against 
the French on the Ohio were placed under the 
command of Governor Sharpe of Maryland. As 
the number of troops was not sufficiently large, the 
General Assembly of Maryland was convened, and 
enacted a law to encourage the enlistment of troops, 
in which was the provision that, if any citizen of the 
province received wounds which destroyed his 
ability to support himself, he should be maintained 
at the public expense. At a subsequent session 
held in February, the General Assembly passed 
laws to regulate the transportation of the military 
stores, and the mode of quartering the soldiers 
upon the inhabitants. They also prohibited, by 
severe penalties, every inhabitant from furnishing 
the enemy with provisions or any material for war. 
While these preparations were in progress for 
the anticipated struggle, the hearts of the colonists 
13 



146 beaddock's areangements. 

were greatly cheered by the arrival from Great 
Britain of General Braddock with two regiments 
of regular troops. The confidence of the colonists 
in the success of the expedition was now fully es- 
tablished ; it seemed to them that all that was want- 
ing to drive the French home, or to whiten the fields 
with their bones, was the march of the English army 
to the scene of the coming conflict. But although 
the enthusiasm of the people was great, yet there 
was great reluctance on their part to furnish horses, 
teamsters and wagons for the transportation of 
the military stores and material of all kinds to 
the scene of action. Many, however, were pressed 
into the service, and many were hired. Benjamin 
Franklin, with great i)atriotism, hired a hundred and 
fifty wagons by giving his own bonds to indemnify 
the owners against loss. This generous movement 
subjected him afterward to great inconvenience, as 
many of these wagons were lost or destroyed. 

As Braddock was fearful that the French would 
intrench themselves in large numbers at Fort Du- 
quesne, now called Pittsburg, he considered it a 
matter of considerable importance for him to press 
on, and, if possible, surprise the enemy and cut them 
off. He accordingly selected twelve hundred men, 
and pushed forward, leaving the remainder of the 
army to follow more at their leisure. George Wash- 
ington, who bore the rank of colonel, and who had 



WASHINGTON SICK IN A WAGON. 147 

had some experience in actual conflict with the In- 
dians, accepted an invitation from General Braddock 
to become his aid-de-camp and one of the members 
of his military family. He therefore accompanied 
Braddock on this memorable and fatal enterprise. 

The army made slow progress toward the field of 
operations. The roads being new and rough, the 
usual number of horses were unable to draw the 
wagons, so heavily were they loaded. To hasten 
their march, it became necessary to leave behind 
all superfluous baggage, and take with them only 
those tilings that were absohitely necessary. The 
army, in two divisions, pressed on, General Braddock 
being with the advanced portion. Unfortunately 
Colonel Washington was taken down with a violent 
fever which threatened his life. The physician was 
alarmed. Braddock ordered him to pause in his 
march, and go no further until he recovered. It 
seems as if Washington was not particularly pleased 
with this order, for the general gave him " a solemn 
pledge that he should be brought up to the front 
of the army befoi'e it should reach the French fort."* 
With a wagon for his hospital, he was under the 
physician's care nearly a fortnight, at the end of 
which period he was enabled to advance, though 
very slowly and with great suflering, in consequence 
of the incessant jolting of the wagon over the rough 
* Spark's "Washington. 



14:8 A BEA.UTIFUL SCENE. 

roads. He succeeded, however, in reaching Brad 
dock at the Youghiogeny river on the evening pre- 
ceding the battle. 

The troops were now in fine spirits. They were 
within a few miles of Fort Duquesne, and felt fully 
confident that m a few hours they Avould be its 
master. 

Early on the 9th of July, 1755, the army, with 
all their train, crossed the river and continued their 
march along the southern shore of the Monongahela. 
"Washington was often heard to say during his 
Ufetime, that the most beautiful spectacle he ever 
beheld was the display of British troops on this 
eventful morning. Every man was neatly dressed 
in full uniform; the soldiers were arranged in 
columns, and marched in exact order; the sun 
gleamed from their burnished arms ; the river flow- 
ed tranquilly on their right, and the deep forest 
overshadowed them with solemn grandeur on their 
left. Officers and men were equally inspirited with 
cheering hopes and confident anticipations." They 
had crossed the river once, but about noon they 
w^ere obliged to pass over it again. About a mile 
or so from the shore, on the opposite side, was a hill 
covered more or less with trees. Up this hill passed 
the road that led to the fort. All the army safely 
crossed the river. They were then organized into 
three divisions. Three hundred, under Colonei 



AN" INVISIBLE FOE. 149 

Gage, constituted the advance party, and were sent 
on ahead. The next consisted of two hundred, 
after which came General Braddock with the main 
body of the army, the artillery, and all the baggage. 
Some distance intervened between these divisions. 
Having crossed the river without experiencing any 
embarrassment from the enemy, they cherished the 
-hope of reaching the fort without opposition. Not 
a single foe was any where to be seen. To all ap- 
pearance the country was as uninhabited as on the 
morning of creation. # But appearances were deceit- 
ful. A numerous, courageous, and blood-thirsty 
enemy were then in front of them, watching every 
movement, and waiting only for a favorable mo- 
ment to indicate their presence by sending among 
the unsuspicious soldiers their iron-messengers of 
death. About one o'clock, as Colonel Gage's divis- 
ion were ascending the hill, the whole army were 
startled by hearing a discharge of musketry. A 
shower of balls was poured into the front of 
Gage's company, doing dreadful execution. The 
enemy were invisible. The blue smoke rising up 
after every discharge, revealed that the firing came 
from the trees. The soldiers, taken by surprise, and /^ 

attacked so vigorously by an unseen foe, were panic- 
stricken. They fired into the woods at random, 
but without producing any execution. General 
Braddock pressed hastily forward with his troops to 
13^- 



150 



A FATAL AMBUSH. 



support them, but before he reached them, Gage's 
men retreated, and fell back upon the artillery, 
which was coming to their aid, and threw the 




whole army into 
confusion. Igno- 
rant as to who the ') 
enemy wsre, or /^ 
what were their 
number, or in 
what way they 

could be effectually reached, and seeing their offi- 
cers and comrades falling around them, at every 



INDIAN AMBUSH. 



COURAGE OF THE VIRGINIANS. 151 

discharge from tlieir mysterious foe, they became 
so panic-stricken tliat they huddled together hke 
frightened sheep when wolves are prowling around 
them ; they fired their guns at random, shooting 
down more of their own company than of the ene- 
my. The cool and the excited efforts of the ofhcei'S 
to restore order were equally unsuccessful. No 
motives, no appeals, no commands were, by any 
considerable number, heeded, if we except the pro- 
vincials from Virginia, who deserve the credit of 
exhibiting greater coolness and discretion than any 
others. If their example had been imitated by all 
the rest of the army, they might have driven the 
enemy before them, taken possession of the fort, 
and returned home in triumph. These Virginians 
adopted the Indian mode of warfare. Each man 
betook himself to a tree, from behind which he 
fired, whenever an arm, head, or any portion of an 
enemy could be seen. But Braddock seems to have 
despised this skulking mode of battle. It was at 
variance with the rules of his profession. He there- 
fore forbade it, and busied himself in vain efforts to 
form his men, according to the rules of military- 
tactics, into regular platoons and columns. But 
while he was engaged in these futile endeavors, the 
French and Indians, in the concealment of ravines, 
and from behind rocks and trees, were carefully 
singling out their victims, and deliberately shooting 



152 DEATH OF GENERAL BRABDOCK. 

them down, " producing a carnage almost unparal- 
leled in the history of modern warfare." Within 
three hours after this army had crossed the river, 
with such hopes of success, more than half of them 
were either killed or wounded ; among the latter 
was General Braddock himself, whose wound soon 
after proved mortal. 

"De Haas, in his History of Western Virginia, 
maintains, as an unquestionable point of history, 
that Braddock was shot by one of his own men, by 
the name of Tom Fausett. Braddock had issued a 
foolish yet positive order that none of the troops 
should protect themselves behind trees. Regard- 
less of this, Joseph Fausett, a brother of Tom, had 
so posted himself, which Braddock perceivimg, 
rode up, and struck him down with his sword. 
Tom saw his brother fall, and immediately drew up 
his rifle, and shot Braddock in the back. The ball 
Avas stopped in its passage through the body by a 
coat of mail in front. Tom Fausett is said to have 
died in 1828, at the great age of one hundred and 
fourteen years. Tlie sash of General Braddock (in 
which he was borne from the field) was presentpd 
in 1846 by a gentleman of Xew Orleans, into whose 
possession it had come, to General Taylor. It was 
composed of red silk, and the date of its manu&c- 
ture was interwoven—' 1707.' The blood of Gene- 



WASHINGTON'S EXPOSURE. 153 

ral Braddock had left marks upon it of deep dis- 
coloration."* 

It was a remarkable circumstance, and beauti- 
fully illustrative of a superintending Providence, 
that Colonel Washington, though he had not 
recovered from his illness, was constantly moving 
about the theater of action, exposing himself to the 
thickest of the fire, and exhibiting, on all occasions, 
the most admirable courage. Being aide-de-camp 
to the general, it was his duty to carry his orders 
to the subordinate officers in all parts of the field. 
This made him a conspicuous mark to the enemy, 
who did not fail to take advantage of it. In a 
letter to his brother he says : "By the all-powerful 
dispensations of Providence, I have been protected 
beyond all human probability or expectation ; for I 
had four bullets through my coat, and two horses 
shot under me,- yet I escaped unhurt, although 
death was leveling my companions on every side of 
me." The work of Washington was not done. He 
was there receiving experience and a training to tit 
him for greater achievements, and a more glorious 
career at a future period. The severity of the 
engagement may be inferred from the fact that out 
of eighty-six officers, twenty-six were killed, and 
thirty-seven were wounded, while the killed and 
wounded of the soldiers amounted to seven hundred 
* Goodrich's History of the United States. 

'7* 



154 WASHINGTON AND AN INDIAN". 

and fourteen. Both of the other aides-de-camp of 
Braddock were wounded; and it seems ahnost 
miraculous that Washington escaped. About fifteen 
years after this battle, Washington, in company 
with an intimate friend, traveled to the West. 
While in the vicinity of the junction of the Great 
Kenawha and Ohio rivers, they were visited by a 
tribe of Indians, over w^hom presided a venerable 
chief. This aged chief told them that having been 
informed of the approach of Colonel Washington 
to that part of the country, he had come a long 
journey on purpose to see him, and then assigned 
as a reason that, during this very battle of which 
we have given an account, " he had singled out 
Washington as a conspicuous object, fired his rifle 
at him many times, and directed his young warriors 
to do the same, but to his utter astonishment, none 
of their balls took efiect. He was then persuaded 
that the youthful hero was nnder the special guard- 
ianship of the Great Spii-it, and immediately ceased 
to fire at hiir . He was now^ come to pay homage 
to the man who w^as the particular favorite of 
Heaven, and who could never die ifi battle," 



CHAPTER XII. 



Savages offer their Services— The Offer unwisely Eejected— Washington's 
Fame — Davies' Allusion to him Prophetic — Thirst for Blood — The 
Moravians attacked— Dreadful State of Things— A marvelous Escape- 
Scalp taken from a living Head— Great Panic— Reward of Ten Pounds 
for an Indian's Scalp, 



The question naturally arises, hoAV happened it 
that the army of General Braddock was allowed to 
be led into an ambush, when it was well known that 
that was the Indian ixtode of warfare, against which 
he ought to have been particularly on his guard ? 
The true answer to this question develops an un- 
desirable trait of character in the commander. 

While the army were on their march to Fort Du- 
Quesne, a body of Indians made their appearance, 
and offered to take sides with the English in the 
approaching conflict. Washington, who well knew 
that under certain circumstances they would be 
able to render important services in the battle, 
earnestly urged General Braddock to accept of their 
offer. The General did so, but it was ^vith such 
cold iudiflereuce, as to make a decidedly unfavor- 
able hnpression upon these wild volunteers. This 



156 braddock's unfortunate decision. 

impression was deepened to so great a degree by 
the subsequent neglect which the Indians experi- 
enced from their new friends, that they soon all 
withdrew. They did not, however, go far, for on 
the evening before the battle they showed them- 
selves again, and a second time oftered their serv- 
ices. Washington again endeavored to influence 
his commanding oflicer to receive them. He told 
him of the character of Indians, their practice of 
laying in ambush, and of fighting from behind trees, 
and dwelt on the importance of employing these 
volunteers as scouts to go ahead and reconnoiter 
the woods and ravines, and in this manner discover 
any ambuscade that might be in waiting for them. 
But Braddock, flushed with confidence in the cour- 
age of his own troops, and disdaining the assistance 
of these half-naked and ignorant savages, in a de- 
cided manner sternly refused to accept of their 
oflTer. This unfortunate decision sealed the fate of 
the following day. For if Washington's advice had 
been followed, and these Indians, or a portion of 
them, had been employed as scouts to examine the 
ground in front of the advancing army, they would 
have discovered the ambush, and, by preventing 
the surprise, would, it is highly probable, have se- 
cured the victory to the English. But through the 
foohsh and haughty arrogance of Braddock, they 
were repulsed, and the consequence was a most 



WASHINGTON'S FAME. 157 

bloody and disgraceful defeat. This, however, re- 
suited in no loss of fame to Washington. His fear- 
lessness, decision, and tact, in the trying emergency 
of the battle, were witnessed by his brother officers 
and soldiers, who commended him in the strongest 
terms. He gathered laurels from the same field 
where his commander received only dishonor and 
death. So surprising was his escape from the many 
perils to which, in that trying conflict, he was ex- 
posed, that it was deemed worthy of special allu- 
sion in a sermon preached by Rev. Samuel Davies, 
not long after, who used the following language, 
which, to say the least, approximates to the pro- 
phetic. After an appropi-iate commendation of the 
soldier-like quahties which were exhibited on that 
memorable occasion by the Virginia troops, he 
added, " As a remarkable instance of this, I may 
point out to the public that heroic youth, Colonel 
Washington, whom I can not but hope Providence 
has hitherto preserved, in so signal a manner, for 
some important service to his country." * How 
well this prediction was veiified, the subsequent his- 
tory of Washington has shown. 

In this engagement the number of the enemy was 
nearly nine hundred, two thirds of whom were 
Indians. Fortunately for the English, so eager 
were the victorious army to secure the rich spoils 

* Sparks's Life of "Washington. 
14 



158 INDIAN COLDNESS. 

of the conquered, and the scalps of their dead, that, 
instead of pursuing the EngHsh, and cutting them 
down on their retreat, as they might have done 
with dreadful eifect, they Ungered upon the field of 
carnage, to gather whatever their cupidity or re- 
venge desired. Still, so great was the panic which 
had seized the English, that they seemed to have 
retreated with as much dismay as though the In- 
dians were howling in close pursuit. At the order 
of Colonel Dunbar, the baggage and stores were 
destroyed, and the wagons in which they were car- 
ried were used to convey the wounded. He re- 
treated to Fort Cumberland, and, before long, 
marched to Philadelphia. So unpropitious did the 
prospects of the war seem that, though it was then 
midsummer, he went into winter quarters, and, by 
so doing, left all the frontier settlements exposed 
to the tender mercies of the enraged and pitiless 
savages. 

As might have been expected, scenes of terrible 
barbarity were soon witnessed. 

The Indians, whatever may have been their 
motives, manifested a coldness toward that party 
who were defeated, though they had previously 
been on friendly terms with them. The Shawanese 
and the Delawares w-ere in alliance with the EnHish. 
They had not only been faithful to their white 
friends, but had frequently expressed a desii'e to be 



REWARD GIVEN FOR INDIAN HEADS. 159 

Bent b}- the English for hostile purposes against the 
French. Such was their love for the excitements 
and horrors of battle that they declared if they 
were not employed by the English they would take 
sides against them. This thirst for blood had been 
steadily resisted. But now that the English forces 
under Braddock had been defeated, and a wide field 
for the gratification of their savage propensities 
was furnished by the French, they abandoned the 
English and went over to the former.* While 
they were in sympathy with the English, they had 
been treated with great kindness and had conferred 
upon them a great number of presents adapted to 
their tastes and wants. When, therefore, they de- 
serted them and united with their enemies, the 
indignation of the colonists was greatly excited at 
the perfidy they thus exhibited; and under the 
mfluence of this feeling, the citizens of the province 
of Pennsylvania, who had conferred these favors 
upon them, oifered, with the consent of the gov- 
ernor, a reward of seven hundred dollars for their 
heads. 

The defection of these Indians was soon followed 
by the most dreadful barbarities. It is extremely 
difficult for us, surrounded as we are with all the 
indications of peace, contentment and prosp(;nty, 
to realize the deep and wide-spread agitation occa- 
* Gordon's History of New Jersey. 



160 DREADFLTL STATE OF THINGS. 

sioned by the horrors of those times. Even tho 
peace-loving Moravians, who had ever treated the 
aborigines with uniform kindness, were ruthlessly 
attacked by them, and some of their number cruelly 
murdered. The state of things among the English 
may be inferred from the following extracts of 
letters which were written about that time. One 
sent from the Union Iron Works, in New Jersey, 
December 20th, 1755, says: "The barbarous and 
bloody scene which is now open in the upper parts 
of Northampton County, is the most lamentable 
that has, perhaps, ever appeared. There may be 
seen horror and desolation — populous settlements 
deserted — villages laid in ashes — men, women, and 
children cruelly mangled and massacred — some 
found in the woods, very nauseous for want of 
interment — some just reeking from the hands of 
their savage slaughterers — and some hacked and 
covered all over with wounds." This letter, as a 
confirmation of its statements, gave a catal )gue of 
seventy-eight persons who had been slain, and of 
over forty settlements which had been burned. 

Another letter from Easton, written five days 
later than the one above, contains the following : 

The country all above this town, for fifty miles, 
is mostly evacuated and ruined. The people have 
chiefly fled into the Jerseys. Many of them have 
thrashed out their corn and carried it oflT, with their 



INDIAN ATEOCITIES. 161 

cattle and best household goods ; but a vast deal is 
'eft to the ene ny. Many offered half their personal 

/ects to save the rest, but could not obtain assist- 
ance enough in time to remove them. The enemy 
made but few prisoners ; murdering almost all that 
fell into their hands, of all ages and both sexes. 
All business is at an end, and the few remaining 
starving inhabitants in this town are quite dejected 
and dispirited." 

Thus the borders of Maryland, as well as those 
of neighboring states, being open to the attacks of 
the Indians, became the theater where were acted, 
in all their horrid realities, the sickening tragedies 
of savage war. Even before the disastrous discom- 
fiture of Braddock, a war-party of Indians penetrat- 
ed the settlements, and by their atrocities filled the 
hearts of the people with terror. The house of Mr. 
Williams, which was situated in Frederic County, 
was visited by them, and, true to their nature, they 
commenced a work of carnage which was not fin- 
ished until twelve persons of various ages were 
murdered in cold blood. After Braddock's defeat, 
a company of settlers, believing themselves to be 
unsafe in their own dwellings, attempted to escape 
to Fort Cumberland. On their way they were met 
by a party of Indians, who attacked them and slew 
fifteen ; the original number being eighteen, three 

only escaped. Of these, one was a boy, who had an 
14* 



162 ORKAT PANIC. 

extremely perilous deliverance. He was struck by 
the Indians and fell. One of these demons incar- 
nate approached him, perhaps, ^.he very one who 
struck him — and finding him senseless — deliberately 
drew his knife, cut a small circle round the top of 
his head, tore off this circular piece of skin, which 
is called the scalp, and left him for dead. But the 
boy afterward revived, and though he suffered 
much pain, he succeeded in reaching the fort. 

So great was the panic which was excited through- 
out the colony, that even the inhabitants of the large 
towns were fearful of a midnight attack. A writer 
in Green's Gazette^ published at that time, says that 
the Indians were but a short distance from Annapo- 
lis, and " that so entire was their defenseless situa- 
tion that even a small party of twenty or thirty In- 
dians, by marching in the night and skulking in the 
day time, might come upon them unawares in the 
dead of night, burn their houses, and cut their 
throats, before they could put themselves in a post- 
ure of defense." This writer, perhaps, took counsel 
only of his fears, for others beHeved that " there 
was no more danger of AnnapoKs being attacked by 
the Indians than London." The apprehensions of 
the people were soon allayed by the return of sev- 
eral volunteers from the West, who stated that they 
had seen no Indians on the way except one, ara 
" that he was ' very quiet; for they found him deaiV^ 



TEJN POUNDS FOR A SCALP. 163 

The state of the colony during this trying year 
may be inferred from the fact- that more than twen- 
ty of the least protected plantations were destroy- 
ed, and the families of the planters either murdered 
by the blood-thirsty enemy, or carried away into 
a hopeless captivity. 

In order to put the country in a proper state of 
defense, by the erection of forts and blockhouses at 
the most exposed points, the Legislature of Mary- 
land, on the 22d of March 1756, passed a bill, in 
which provision was made for raising forty thousand 
pounds for these purposes, and also to provide for the 
enlistment and payment of troops. It was directed 
that ten pounds should be paid to any individual 
who would produce the scalp of any hostile Indian ; 
the bloody skin being regarded as evidence that 
its owner had been recently slain. It was slow 
work, however, to extirpate the Indians in this man- 
ner. Small parties were sent out from the colonies, 
who would occasionally fall in with a band of ma- 
rauding Indians, and then a conflict would ensue in 
which some on both sides would be slain or wounded, 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Desl^ of the French— Crown Point— -Johnson and the Indian Chlel 
Hendrick— Baron Dieskau— Indian Mode of Numbering— Indian Battle 
—An eloquent Indian Chief— Important military Principle— Effects of 
Delay— Battle of Lake George— Death of Baron Dieskau— Retreat of 
.he French— Effects of the Victory— Johnson highly honored— His self- 
ish Meanness— A true Principle. 

The persevering design of the French to obtain 
possession of large portions of the American conti- 
nent, south of Canada, notwithstanding the defeats 
with which their armies had met, was further e\dnced 
by their subsequent military operations. In 1731 
they erected a fort at Crown Point, on the south- 
western shore of Lake Champlain, in the territory 
of the Indians known as the Six Nations, who were 
the allies of, and under the protection of the English. 
This was almost equivalent to an invasion of English 
soil. It attracted but little attention, and excited 
ao alarm among the English at the time, but after- 
ward it was the occasion of a bloody conflict. 

By 1755 so serious had become the encroachments' 
of the French that vigorous measures were neces- 
sary to arresi them. Accordingly between five and 
six thousand troops, chiefly from New England and 



ANECDOTES OF HENDKICK. 165 

New York assembled at Albany, an inconsiderable 
town on the Hudson. They were placed under the 
command of an Irishman of the name of William 
Johnson — a man distinguished for great muscular 
power, mental energy, and a bold, enterprising spirit. 
A prominent reason wdiy he was appointed, arose 
from his influence with the Six Nations, whom, it 
was supposed, he would induce to unite in the expe- 
dition. In accordance with this expectation he 
prevailed upon Hendrick, one of their leading chiefs, 
to accompany them with three hundred of the wild 
warriors of his tribe. 

Of this chief the following anecdotes are related 
illustrative of his character : At the time it was in 
contemplation to send a detachment against Dies- 
kau, the number of men to compose the detach- 
ment was mentioned to Hendrick, and his opinion 
was asked as to whether there were enough. He 
replied with Indian brevity, "If they are to fight 
they are too few ; if they are to be killed they are 
too many." The number was at once increased. 

Johnson suggested that the detachment should 
be divided into three parties. To this Hendrick 
was averse, and to express in an impressive manner 
his opposition, he took three sticks, and putting them 
together said to him, " Put these together and you 
can not break them ; take them one by one and you 
will break them easily." The hint was not lost, and 



166 



PREPAKATIONS FOR WAR. 



" Hendrick's sticks saved umny of the party and 
probably the whole army from destruction." 

General Lyman was the second in command. 
While Johnson was busily engaged in collecting 




\*^fS^!S2S^/ 



HENDRICK AND THE STICKS. 



arms, ammunition and military stores at Albany, 
Lyman with the troops was industriously laboring 
to erect a fort at what was termed the "Carrying 
place," betw^een Hudson river and Lake George, 
about sixty miles from Albany. It received the 
name of Foil Edward. Johnson, after finishinor his 



JOHNSON'S DECISION. 167 

collection of stores, joined his army and, after leav. 
ing a part of it to garrison the new fort, he pushed 
on to meet the enemy. It was his intention to re- 
duce first the fortifications of Ticonderoga, but re- 
ceiving the alarming tidings that a strong body of 
French and Indians were approaching toward him, 
under the command of the able and experienced 
Baron Dieskau, he was compelled to abandon this 
design, and place himself on the defensive. Dies- 
kau, knowing that the army of the English were in- 
ferior to his own, calculated upon an easy victory 
over them, and then he intended to take Albany 
and lay waste the various neighboring settlements 
of the Englisli, Unfortunately for Johnson he was 
unable to learn the probable number or position of 
the enemy. His Indian scouts, from whom he de- 
rived all his information, were unable to express 
with decision any large numbers. When asked how 
many, they would point to their hair, or to the 
stars, to signify a large number, but whether they 
meant that there were five hundred or ten thousand 
it was impossible to tell. Johnson was not to be in- 
timidated by rumors of a large army of the enemy 
of uncertain numbers. Taking counsel from his 
courage rather than from discretion, he detached a 
thousand of his brave men, under the command of, 
Colonel Ephraim Williams, together with two hun- 
dred Indians under the Mohawk chief Hendrick, to 



168 THE BATTLE. 

intercept the French, and, if possible, drive them 
back. This detachment marched forward upon their 
perilous enterprise with more boldness than pru- 
dence. For Dieskau had judiciously placed his men 
in such positions that they formed a perfect ambus- 
cade, lie had arranged the French and Indians on 
both sides of the road, behind rocks, bushes, trees 
and whatever else would aiford protection, so that 
they were effectually concealed from the enemy. 
The English army steadily advanced until they were 
caught in the ambush. " Whence came you ?" said 
an Indian on the French side to Hendrick. " From 
the Mohawks " he replied. " Whence came you?" 
" From Montreal " was the answer. The battle now 
began. A few shots fired by the advanced compa- 
nies indicated to the whole of the two armies that 
they had met the enemy. The conflict soon became 
general. Reports of musketry were heard from be- 
hind every rock and tree. Warriors on both sides 
fell without knowing by whom they were wounded. 
SkiU, caution and bravery w^ere displayed by both 
parties. As the French were the most numerous, 
and as they were endeavoring to surround the Amer- 
icans, in which, if they had succeeded, they would 
soon have slain or captured the whole of them, it 
became necessary for the Americans to retreat. 
This was judiciously and successfully accomplished, 
under the command of Nathan Whiting. There 



A NOBLE CHIEF. 169 

was no panic — no rout in this retreat. So far from it 
that the retreating party repeatedly rallied, turned 
and fired upon their pursuers. The loss to both 
armies was considerable. On the American side 
Colonel Williams and the chief Hendrick were both 
slain. Hendrick was one of nature's noblemen. " He 
had lived to this day with singular honor, and died 
■fighting with a spirit not to be excelled. He waa 
at this time from sixty to sixty-five years of age. 
His head was covered with white locks, and, what is 
uncommon among Indians, he was corpulent. Im- 
mediately before Colonel Williams began his march, 
he mounted a stage and harangued his people. He 
had a strong mascuUne voice, and it was thought, 
might be distinctly heard at the distance of half a 
mile, a fact which has difi'iised a new degree of prob- 
ability over Homer's representations of the eifects 
produced by the speeches and shouts of his heroes. 
Lieutenant Colonel Pomroy, who was present and 
heard this efi'usion of Indian eloquence, said that 
although he did not understand a word of the Ian- 
guage, yet such was the animation of Hendrick, the 
fire of his eye, the force of his gesture, the strength 
of his emphasis, the apparent propriety of the in- 
flections of his voice and the natural appearance of 
his whole manner, that himself was more deeply af- 
fected with this speech than with any other which 
he had ever heard. In the Pennsylvania Gazette^ 
15 



170 i:mportant peinciple. 

September 25tli, 1755, he is styled the famous Hen- 
drick, a renowned Indian warrior among the Mo- 
hawks, and it is said that his son, being told that 
his father was killed, giving the usual Indian groan 
upon such occasions, and suddenly putting his hand 
on his left breast, swore that his father was stiU 
alive in that place, and that here stood his son."* 

On the part of the French, M. St. Pierre, w^ho 
had all the Indians under his command, was slain. 

Nothing is more important after a victory than 
to follow up a retreating army with vigor, without 
giving them time to pause and intrench themselves, 
or prepare for another engagement. It is the 
general testimony of historians that if the French 
commander, Dieskau, had adopted this method, 
after the defeat of Colonel Williams, he might have 
destroyed, or hopelessly scattered, the whole of the 
army under Johnson. But he did not. He paused 
sufficiently long for the confusion of the retreat to 
(Subside, and for Johnson to prepare to meet him. 
The consequence was, that when the French made 
their attack upon the whole force under Johnson 
(who were estabhshed on the banks of the beautiful 
Lake George, protected by some cannon, which 
they had had time to bring up, and of w^hich Dies- 
kau was ignorant), they met with such a w^arm 
reception as soon caused them to repent of their 
* Dwight's Travels. 



THE COURAGE OF DIESKATJ. 171 

ternf^rity. Johnson had felled some trees, with 
which he had constructed a breast work for a por- 
tion of his men. It furnished, however, a very im- 
perfect protection. The French advanced along 
the road in regular order, but when Johnson poured 
into them the unexpected fire of his cannon, the 
Canadians and the Indians fled and betook them- 
selves to the shelter of the trees and the rocks. 
Dieskau was surprised and indignant at their con- 
duct. Still, acting upon his own motto " Boldness 
wins," he made a grand central attack with his 
regulars, which was kept up with courage and 
spirit several hours. But they could not stand 
before the artillery. Johnson was wounded soon 
after the battle began, and was obhged to be 
carried to his tent, leaving the command to Gene- 
ral Lyman, who conducted the defense with great 
boldness and vigor, and eventually succeeded in 
repulsing the French with great loss. ^NTearly all 
the French regulars fell before the well-directed 
fire of the English. The brave Dieskau was wound- 
ed three times, but refused to leave the field. 
When two Canadians approached to perform the 
humane office of bearing him to his tent, one of 
them fell dead by his side, pierced by a ball, the 
other he sent away. He then had his militaiy dress 
placed near him, and seated himself on an old 
Btump, where he could hear soldier's music — the 



172 EFFECT OF THE VICTORY. 

whistling and rattling of balls as they flew beside 
him. Here he was found. " While feeling for his 
watch to surrender it, one of the soldiers suspecting 
him to be in search for a pistol, poured a charge 
through his hips, and he was conducted a prisoner 
to the English camp." He was afterward carried 
to England, where he died of his wounds. The 
retreat of the French was very disorderly. There 
fell in the engagement about two hundred and 
twenty slain, and about one hundi-ed wounded. As 
the French were not immediately follow^ed in their 
retreat, they paused about four miles from the 
camp. Here, while they were preparing to refresh 
their exhausted nature with a meal, tliey were 
suddenly attacked by some two hundred men of 
New Hampshire, under Captain McGinness, and so 
completely put to flight that they left the whole of 
their baggage and ammunition a prize to their 
victors. In this action the brave McGinness fell, 
mortally wounded. This victory at Lake George 
was of great importance to the EngUsh. The defeat 
of Braddock had fllled the colonies with sadness 
and despondency. Some successful engagement 
was necessary to restore them to their accustomed 
buoyancy and confidence. When, therefore, the 
intelligence of this defeat of the French, was dif- 
fused among them, it was like the lifting of a dark 
cloud. Fearfulness was banished, and joy and hope 
once more restored. 



JOHNSON'S 3IEANNESS. 173 

When the accoimt of the victory reached England, 
the House of Lords regarded it of such consequence 
that, in a beautiful address, they passed honorable 
encomiums upon the little army as " brave and faith- 
ful." Johnson was honored with the dignity of a 
baronet, with a grant from Parliament of five thou- 
sand pounds, and in addition thereto, he was ap- 
pointed Superintendent of Indian Aflairs. As 
Johnson was wounded, and obliged to retire from 
the field, in the early part of the engagement, leav- 
ing the responsibility of conducting the battle with 
General Lyman, by whom it was led to a successful 
issue, it seems remarkable that such great distinc- 
tion and emoluments should have been conferred 
upon Johnson, to the neglect of the other officers. 
The reason of this, may, perhaps, be found in the 
fact, that in Johnson's dispatches to the English 
government, giving an account of the victory, he 
" assumed the whole merit of it to himself," and 
thereby robbed the other officers of their proper 
share. The consequence was that their claims 
received no attention in England. The meanness 
of such conduct on the part of Johnson, was una- 
toned for by all the bravery and energy he pos- 
sessed. The true principle which should be recog- 
nized by all commanding officers in their dispatches, 
giving an account of military engagements, is that 
of rendering " honor to whom honor is due." 
15^^ 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Mhrqals de Montcalm— Forts at Oswego— Tiolent Midnight Attack—Fort 
Ontario taken— Colonel Mercer killed— No Aid to be obtained — The 
English capitulate to the French— Terms of Capitulation— Are shame- 
fully violated— Montcalm destroys the Forts— Lord Loudon's Expedi- 
tion— Montcalm's Barbarity— Munro's sad Discovery — The English 
yield to Montcalm — Terms of Submission — Willful Deception— Indigna- 
tion of the Savages— Their horrid Cruelties— Ettects of the Fi.ll of Fort 
William Henry — The Massacre attributed to Liquor. 

After Baron Dieskau had received his mortal 
wound, he was succeeded in the command of the 
French forces, by the Marquis de Montcahn. This 
brave and energetic officer marched against Os- 
wego, a fort at the mouth of the Oswego River, on 
the southern shore of Lake Ontario. This foit con- 
tained fourteen hundred English soldiers, and a 
large quantity of military stores. It was strong, 
being built of stone, surrounded by a wall w^ith four 
bastions, and was protected by another fort, called 
Fort Ontario, situated upon a commanding eminence 
on the opposite side of the river. Montcalm, with 
an army of five thousand French and Indians, came 
suddenly upon Oswego. lie first invested Fort 
Ontario, and at midnight of August 12, 1756, he 
poured a destructive fire upon it, from thirty-two 



TERMS DISGRACEFULLY VIOLATED. 175 

cannon, and several mortars and howitzers. The 
garrison in the little fort replied with becoming 
spirit. But unfortunately for them their stock of 
ammunition was very limited and soon exhausted. 
When this was discovered, the commander, Colonel 
Mercer, spiked his cannon, and fled with his men to 
Fort Oswego, which he succeeded in reaching with- 
out the loss of a single man. The French then took 
possession of the deserted fort, from which they 
oj^ened a heavy fire upon the other. Colonel Mer- 
cer was soon killed, and a breach made in the walls 
of the fort. Upon the loss of their commander, the 
English became disheartened, and were unwilling 
to continue the contest. An effort to obtain aid 
from Fort George, four miles up the river, having 
failed, they capitulated, and surrendered themselves 
prisoners of war. It was stipulated that the prison- 
ers should receive no cruelty from their conquerors, 
that they should be protected from plunder, and 
should be taken to Montreal. These conditions 
were most dishonorably violated. 

" It was the duty of Montcalm to guard his en- 
gagements from the danger of infringement by his 
savage allies; and yet he instantly deUvered up 
twenty of his prisoners to the Indians who accom- 
panied him, as victims to their vengeance, for an 
equal number of their own race who perished in the 
siege. Nor was the remainder of the captive gar- 



176 EXPEDITIONS ABANDONED. 

risen protected from the cruelty and indignity with 
which tliese savages customarily embittered tho fate 
of the vanquished. Almost all of them were plun- 
dered, many were scalped, and some were assassin- 
ated. 

*' In the forts the victors obtained possession of 
one hundred and twenty-one pieces of artillery, 
fourteen mortars, and a great quantity of military 
stores and provisions. A number of sloops and 
boats at the same time fell into their hands." * 

After Montcalm had obtained possession of the 
two forts, instead of putting them in repair and 
leaving a garrison for their protection, he leveled 
them both to the ground. This he did in order to 
secure the confidence and permanent co-operation 
of the Indians of the Six Nations, who were dis- 
pleased that they had been erected upon their ter- 
ritory. 

These disastrous events filled the English colonies 
with discouragement and gloom. Several expedi- 
tions against different points of the enemy's terri- 
tories, which had been planned, were abandoned 
or postponed. Fort Edward and Fort Henry, how- 
ever, were placed in a state of defense. But the 
next year, 1757, Montcalm, who had derived en- 
encouragement from the supineness of the English, 
under the newly-appointed and inefiacient gov- 
* Graliame's History, 



MONTCALM'S BARBARlXr. 177 

ernor, Lord Loudon, marched with nine thousand 
men against Fort Henry. The garrison of the fort 
consisted of three thousand EngHsh and American 
troops, under the command of Colonel Monroe. As 
Fort Edward was only fourteen miles distant, with 
four thousand troops under General Webb, it had 
been reasonably supposed that it would render as- 
sistance in case of an attack upon Fort Henry. 
This, however, was not done. Montcalm pressed 
the siege of the fort with great spirit. He had 
promised the Indians who composed a portion of 
his army that, in case he captured the fort, they 
should have abundant opportunity of gratifying 
their barbarous spirit, by practicing their refined 
cruelties upon as many of the English prisoners as 
would equal the Indians slain in the battle. They 
should also have the privilege of plundering their 
enemy to their heart's content. Motives like these 
were admirably adapted to excite all the ferocity 
of the savage allies, and prompt them to fight like 
so many demons. He also succeeded in stirring up 
a high degree of warlike enthusiasm in the breast 
of the volatile French soldiers. 

The siege was continued with vigor for six days. 
Thousands of well-directed shots were exchanged 
by the two armies, when Munroe made the sad dis- 
covery that his ammunition was failing. As all 
hopes of assistance from Fort Edward, and fi-om all 
8* 



178 INDIAN BARBARITIES. 

Other external sources, were blasted, he Avas com- 
pelled, reluctantly, to capitulate. The terms of 
capitulation were, under the circumstances, highly 
honorable. The conquered garrison agreed not to 
take up arms against the French for eighteen 
months, while the victorious Montcalm stipulated, 
that they should march out of the fort with the 
honors of war, retain their personal baggage, and 
be protected from the incensed cruelty of the feroc- 
ious savages, by a guard of French soldiers, who 
should escort them to Fort Edward. If these con- 
ditions had been faithfully executed, it would have 
saved the English from suffering most atrocious 
cruelty, and would have protected the honor of the 
French from a foul blot, which now rests upon 
them. As it was, the English were woefully de- 
ceived. For when the Indian allies of Montcalm 
learned what favorable conditions had been granted 
to the English, they were indignant, and determin- 
ed not to abide by them. Hence, so soon as the 
conquered soldiers marched out of the fort, and 
yielded up their weapons, the Indians pounced 
upon them with ruthless barbarity, and with their 
accustomed fiend-like malice, tore from them their 
clothing; robbed them of their baggage, and slew, 
or made prisoners, all who opposed them. About 
one thousand and five hundred English soldiers 
were, in this defenseless manner, slain, or subjected 



KFFECT OF LIQUOR, 1V9 

to the barbarities of an Indian captivity. The Indi 
ans who had fought on the side of the EngUsh were 
treated in a etiil more ferocious manner. They 
were seized and subjected to the refined cruelty of 
Indian torture. Of the whole garrison of Fort 
William Henry hardly one half succeeded in reach- 
ing Fort Edward, and they were reduced to a 
most pitiable condition. 

The fall of Fort William Henry filled the English 
colonies with j^ainful surprise, and the disgraceful 
violation of the treaty of capitulation by Montcalm's 
Indians kindled within them burninsi^ indi2:nation. 

For this massacre, Montcalm must not be cen- 
sured too severely. He and his ofticers exerted 
themselves to prevent it. It was, in part, the effect 
of rum, Montcalm had kept spirituous liquors from 
the Indians, but after the capitulation of the garri- 
son they obtained it from the English, and under 
its maddening effects they rushed upon the prison- 
ers and committed the barbarities we have de« 
scribed. This, however, does not excuse Montcaho 
for holding out to the Indians motives of revenge 
and plunder, in order to excite them the morf 
intensely against the English. 



CHAPTEE XY. 

Pitl favors I.lbert}' — Three important Expeditions— Attack upon LonlB 
burg — Landing in a Storm — Brave Attack and Defense — American 
Gibraltar— Bombardment— The City taken— Great Joy in England- 
Soldier's Wit— Disappointment in France — French Commander degrad- 
ed — Montcalm at Ticonderoga— His Intrencliments — Abercrombie on 
Lake George — A Battle in the Woods — Lord Howe slain — Assault of 
Ticonderoga— The Kepulse — English want Cannon — Disheartening 
Effects. 

When intelligence of the capture of the forts in 
America, and the further encroachments of the 
French w^ere known in England, the government 
saw the necessity of sending over more efficient aid 
to their feeble colonies. Pitt was called to the head 
of affairs, as the chief minister of the government. 
He was a man of enlarged views, powerful oratory, 
and great executive talents. He was a friend to 
liberty, and strongly opposed to all tyrannical or 
unjust legislation toward the colonies. Being con- 
vinced of the uiefficiency of Lord Loudon's adminis- 
tration of affairs in Amei'ica, he had him recalled. 
He also wrote letters to the colonies encouraging 
them to raise soldiers, and provide, to the extent 
of tlieir ability, the munitions of war. He also 
stimulated the government to aid the colonies by 



ATTACK UPON LOUISBUR^i 181 

sending out large numbers of troops, in connection 
with a fleet of vessels of war. 

During the year 1758 three different expeditions 
were undertaken by the English. The object of 
these expeditions was the conquest of Canada. The 
first was an attack upon Louisburg, a town situated 
on the eastern extremity of the island of Cape Bre- 
ton, and garrisoned by thirty-one hundred soldiers, 
of whom two thousand five hundred were regulars, 
the rest being militia. The harbor was protected by 
one fifty-gun ship, five ships of the line, and five 
frigates — three being sunk across the mouth. On 
the 2d of June the English fleet and army, consist- 
ing of twenty ships of tlie line, fifteen frigates, and 
ten thousand soldiers, arrived before the town. So 
violent were the waves, and so well protected was 
the harbor, that the attempt to land was deemed 
too dangerous to be undertaken. 

But on the 8th of the month this important ope- 
ration commenced. The first division that landed 
was under the command of General Wolfe. The 
boats were well filled, and notwithstanding the surf, 
which continued to roll with much violence, they 
advanced toward the land. But they met with ob- 
structions more difficult than the waves. These 
consisted of a tempestuous storm of bullets, poured 
upon them by the French from behind their batteries 
and breastworks, which had been thrown up along 



182 



BRAVE ATTACK AND DEFENSE. 



the shore to prevent the landing of the invaders. 
Wolfe would not allow a gun to be fired in return. 
But he kept up the spirits of the men by cheering 
them onward. When they arrived near the land 
they leaped in the rolling surf, and in spite of a spir- 



4 m 




\^ 



<eX' 



'^ ^ 




LANDING AT LOUISBURQ. 



ited fire kept up by the euemy, they waded through 
the water, reached the shore, attacked the batteries 
which had been making the waters of the ocean 
crimson with the blood of the English, furiously as- 
sailed those who served the guns, slew them at 
their posts, or else drove them from their positions, 



AMERICAN GIBRALTAR. 183 

and in a few hours successfully invested the town. 
In this movement, which was conducted with skill 
and energy, several of the boats of the English, filled 
with soldiers, were dashed to pieces by the violence 
of the waves, and many others were upset, tlid'ow- 
ing their passengers into the turbulent deep. 

After the English troops were landed, it became 
desirable to seize a post in the possession of the ene- 
my, called Light House Point, from which by a well- 
directed battery the English might greatly annoy 
the French ships in the harbor, and do effective 
execution upon the fortifications of the town. Gen- 
eral Wolfe w^as accordingly sent with a detachment 
of two thousand men to take this point. This was 
no difficult task, for when the enemy saw him ap- 
proaching, they abandoned the position and fled. 
The siege of the town was now pressed with cau- 
tion, yet with great resolution. The fleet was un- 
der the command of Admiral Boscawen, and the 
soldiers under Amherst, to whom Wolfe w\as a sub- 
ordinate. The garrison of Louisburg was command- 
ed by Chevalier de Drucourt. So strong were the 
fortifications of this place, and of such importance 
was its possession supposed to be, that it was called 
the American Gibraltar. But it could not stand 
before the resistless energy of the English. A well- 
directed bomb set fire to one of the largest French 
ships, which soon blew up, scattering its burning 



184 SURRENDER OF THE GARRISON. 

fragments in every direction. This set fire to two 
others, which were also consumed. The admiral 
now sent off boats with six himdred men to destroy, 
or take possession of two ships of the line. Under 
the cover of night they engaged in this perilous en- 
terprise. One of the ships was aground. This they 
set on fire, and notwithstanding a violent shower 
of musket and cannon-balls, which were pouring 
upon them, they succeeded in triumphantly towing 
the other away. The English admiral now had 
command of the harbor. Breaches had also been 
made in the fortifications that protected the town. 
The firing was kept up with vigor. The town was 
reduced nearly to ruins. 

By the 25th of July it was apparent to the 
French commander that it was useless to hold out 
any longer. The fleet was destroyed, and the 
enemy controlled the harbor. Of fifty-two cannon, 
forty had been rendered useless. Longer oppo- 
sition would only lead to unnecessary slaughter. 
The Chevalier de Drucourt proposed to capitulate. 
The terms he offered were rejected by the English, 
who demanded that the garrison should yield as 
prisoners of war, or, in case of refusal, be simultane- 
ously assaulted by sea and land. These conditions 
were so humiliating that the spirit of the French 
commander revolted at them, but there being no 
other alternative, he was compelled to yield. By 



JOY IN ENGLAND. 185 

this important victory there came into the hands 
of the English two hundred and twenty-one pieces 
of cannon, eighteen mortars for the throwing of 
bombs, with an immense quantity of stores and 
ammunition. In achieving this triumph the English 
lost about four hundred men, and the French fifteen 
hundred. The most important effect of this victory 
was, that it greatly weakened the power of France 
on the eastern coast of America. For not only 
was Louisburg, but also Isle Royal, St. John's and 
their dependencies, at this time surrendered to the 
English. The island of Cape Breton was also taken, 
and French authority fell. The inhabitants of Cape 
Breton were carried back to France in EnHish 
ships, but the garrison of Louisburg, consisting of 
more than five thousand six hundred men, were 
sent as prisoners of war to England, where the 
news of this important victory excited a high de- 
gree of joyous enthusiasm. The French flags which 
were taken at Louisburg were used to grace a grand 
procession in London, from Kensington Palace to 
the Cathedral at St. Paul's. The assistance of the 
God of battles was at the same time also recog- 
nized. A special form of thanksgiAdng was prepared 
and appointed to be read in all the churches. 

Amid the roar of battle and of carnage illustra- 
tions of wit are sometimes furnished from incidents 

which, to one unaccustomed to war, would seem to 
16* 



186 THE FEENCH GENERAL DEGRADED. 

be suggestive of any other feeling than that of 
cheerfulness. Here is an instance: AVhile com- 
mancTing the soldiers in the trenches before Louis- 
burg, a bomb from the fort grazed the skull and 
knocked off the hat of General Lawrence, but with- 
out inflictins: a serious wound. This furnished oc- 
casion for a humorous remark of Captain Charles 
Lee. " I '11 resign to-morrow," exclaimed Lee. 
*'Why so?" was the reply. "Because," said the 
wit, " none but a fool will remain in a service in 
which the generals' heads are bomb-proof" 

By this defeat the French government were both 
pained and chagrined. They had spent an immense 
amount of money upon the fortifications of the town ; 
but all in vain. They expected much also from the 
fleet sent to its assistance. So indignant were they 
at the conduct of Marquis De Gouttes Avho com- 
manded the fleet on this occasion, and was so unfor- 
tunate as to be conquered, that " he w^as condemned 
in France to be degraded from his rank of nobil- 
ity, to have his patent burned hy the common hang- 
m,an^ and to be imprisoned for twenty-one years." 

The depression of the French was not of long 
continuance. They were soon called upon to rejoice 
over a victory w^hich, though of not so much im- 
portance as the capture of Louisburg, yet redounded 
greatly to their honor, and was the means of restor* 
ing spirit and enthusiasm to their armv. 



CHARACTER OF LORD HOWE. 187 

After the conquest of Cape Breton, the English 
uc-xt dh-ected theh^ movements against Ticonderoga, 
situated at the southern extremity of Lake Cham- 
plain. A fort had been built on a point of land 
formed by the lake and a small river, which con- 
ducted the water of Lake Iloricon into that of 
Cliamplain. Here Montcalm, the French com- 
mander, was intrenched, with forces numbering 
over thirty-six hundred. Knowing that the En- 
glish intended to make a powerful attack upon this 
place with a formidable army, Montcalm made 
every preparation to give them a suitable reception. 
In addition to a high breastwork which was erect- 
ed, he ordered his men to cut down trees and 
branches, sharpen the ends, and thickly strew them 
with their points toward the enemy, so as to en- 
tangle them and impede their approach to the fort. 
On the 5th of July, 1758, the whole EngHsh sol- 
diery, amounting to upward of fifteen thousand men 
—the largest army from the Old World which had 
ever congregated in the New— took their departure 
from their place of encampment on Lake George, and 
directed their course toward the north. They were 
commanded by General Abercrombie ; under him 
was Lord Howe, a young officer of great merit, 
who, by his soldier-like qualities, his courage, deci- 
sion, good sense, and humanity, had secured the 
respect of his brother officers, and the aflfectionate 



188 FRENCH ADVANCE GUARD RETREAT. 

esteem of the whole army. In the dawn of the 
mornino;, these fifteen thousand soldiers, under the 
du-ection of their subordinate officers, embarked in 
one hundred and thirty-five whale-boats, and nine 
hundred other small boats of a difiTerent craft. 
Their artillery was borne on rafts, constructed for 
the purpose. When this fleet of over a thousand 
boats left the shore, breaking the glassy surface of 
the beautiful Lake George, and sending the ripples, 
like so many couriers, in every direction — with 
their gorgeous banners streaming over their heads, 
and the shores echoing the strains of their soul- 
inspiring music — they presented a magnificent 
sight. The soldiers, flushed with recent victory, 
were sanguine of further success. 

After they disembarked, they were arranged into 
four columns, the British regulars forming the 
center, and the American provincials the flanks. 
In this manner they set out toward Ticonderoga, 
drawing an immense train of artillery, ammunition, 
and stores after them. 

They fell in with an advanced guard of the 
French, of three hundred men, under the command 
of De Trepezee, who had been sent to observe the 
movements of the English. Upon the approach of 
Abercrombie, De Trepezee left his encampment, 
and retreated. The Enghsh pressed on over the 
hills and valleys, and through the woods, as rapidly 



DEATH OF LORD HOWE. 189 

as the natural obstructions of the country would 
allow. As Lord Howe was advancing with the 
right central column, he fell upon De Trepezee and 
nis three hundred, who had become bewildered 
and lost, on their return to Fort Carillon. A 
severe skirmish at once ensued. The English poured 
upon these fugitive wanderers a scorching fire, 
which was returned with spirit. Though attacked 
so suddenly, the enemy exhibited great promptitude 
and courage in their defense. Concealing them- 
selves in the bushes and behind the trees, they 
poured forth successive volleys of musketry, and 
came near putting their pursuers to flight. The 
provincials, w^ho were better acquainted with the 
mode of fighting adopted at this time by the French 
and their Indian allies, maintained their ground, 
and prevented a disastrous retreat. De Trepezee 
was vanquished. Of his three hundred, some were 
drowned in a neighboring stream, some slain, and 
about one hundred and sixty taken prisoners. Yet 
this victory w^as purchased at a severe loss ; Lord 
Howe fell in the first of the engagement and died 
almost immediately. His loss was a great affliction 
to the army : he was the pride and confidence of 
the soldiers. Great reliance was placed upon his 
judgment, skill, promptitude, and energy in the 
approaching attack upon Fort Carillon at Ticonde- 
roga. His fall, therefore, was followed by great 



190 ASSAULT OF TICONDEKOGA- 

gloom and depression in the army. It was, also, 
deplored throughout the American colonies. The 
colony of Massachusetts voted to erect a monument 
to his honor in Westminster Abbey. 

The night following this skirmish the English 
passed in the woods. 

On the 8th, General Abercrombie sent his chief 
engineer to reconoiter the French position. . He 
did so, and brought back word that their de- 
fenses were weak, and would present but little 
obstruction. Other officers of better judgment 
differed from him in opinion. However, Aber- 
crombie resolved upon making an attack. With- 
out waiting for his cannon to be brought up, which 
would have rendered essential assistance, he gave 
orders for an immediate assault. His army ap- 
proached in three lines. Montcalm, the French 
commander, when he saw them advancmg, threw 
off his coat and ordered his men to retain their 
fire till further orders. The English came for- 
ward in three columns, so as to attack three dif- 
erent points simultaneously. But they soon found 
themselves impeded and thrown into confusion by 
the trees and pointed branches which the French 
had strewn before their defenses. At the com- 
mand of Montcalm, the French now poured upon 
the besiegers a galling fire from muskets and 
Bwivels, which produced great execution. The offi- 



THE REPULSE. 191 

cers and men who were entangled in promiscu- 
ous confusion among the branches, logs and rub- 
bish, which the French had strewn in front of their 
breastworks, furnished so many marks for the be- 
sieged to aim at ; the consequence was, large num- 
bers of them fell. Nothing daunted, the EngUsh 
came again and again to the attack with great cour- 
age and intrepidity. Until late in the afternoon 
were these assaults continued, but all in vain. If 
Abercrombie had waited until his cannon had ar- 
rived, before he commenced the attack, or if he 
had continued the conflict until they were on the 
ground, it is believed that he would have subdued 
the fort. There were heights in the vicinity from 
which he could have poured into the fort a destruct- 
ive fire of heavy balls that would have reduced it 
to min in a short time. Even Montcalm, himself, 
said, " If I had to besiege Fort Carillon, I would 
ask for but six mortars and two pieces of artillery." 
Abercrombie unwisely attempted the reduction 
of the place without cannon, and Avhen he found 
that this was impossible, instead of postponing fur- 
ther measures until his artillery arrived, he inglori- 
ously ordered the siege to be raised and his army 
to retreat. So great was the confusion and the 
ignorance of the English respecting the position of 
their own troops, that they fired upon their friends, 
producing more execution than among the enemy 



192 IJ^^GLOEIOUS RETEEAT. 

The engagement continued four hours, during 
which time the English lost in killed and wounded, 
one thousand nine hundred and forty-four, and then 
precipitately retreated to the boats on the lake, 
which they had left at the landing place. The 
next morning they embarked, leaving the French, 
who were only about one fourth as numerous as 
themselves, to glory in their success. This disas- 
trous result of an expensive and magnificent enter- 
prise, from which so much had been hoped, filled 
the colonies with gloom, and the British court with 
sadness. The disheartening efiects were almost 
equal to those produced by the defeat of Braddock, 



CHAPTER Xyi. 

Activity of the French— Attempt to intercept them — Injudicious Sport — 
A Skirmish the Consequence — Putnam a Prisoner to the Indians — 13 
tied to a Tree to be burned — His Thoughts — His Deliverance — Colonel 
Bradstreet's Proposition — The Expedition against Fort Frontinac — 
State of Things at Oswego — Attack upon Frontinac — Indian Deserters — 
Frontinac taken — Munitions of VVar obtained — ^Armed Vessels seized— 
The Fort leveled — The English encouraged. 

After the dislionorable retreat of the English 
from Ticonderoga, and " while Abercrombie wearied 
his army with laborious idleness in lining out a fort, 
the partisans of Montcalm were present every where. 
Just after the retreat of the English they fell upon 
a regiment at the halfway brook, between Fort Ed- 
ward and Lake George. A fortnight later they 
seized a convoy of wagoners at the same place. To 
intercept the French on their return some hundred 
rangers scoured the forests near Woodcreek, march- 
ing in Indian file, Putnam in the rear, in front the 
Commander Rogers, who with a British officer be- 
guiled the way by firing at marks. The noise at- 
tracted hostile Indians to an ambuscade. A skirm- 
ish ensued, and Putnam, with twelve or fourteen 
more, was separated from the party. His com- 
17 



194 ATTACK UPON FORT FRONTIXAC. 

rades were scalped ; in after-lite he used to relate 
how one of the savages gashed his cheek with a 
tomahawk, bound him to a forest-tree and kindled 
about him a crackling fire ; how his thoughts glanced 
aside to the wife of his youth and the group of 
children that gamboled in his fields, when the brave 
French ofiicer Marin descried his danger and res- 
cued him from death, to be exchanged in the au- 
tumn."* 

After the repulse from Ticonderoga Colonel Brad- 
street proposed to go against Fort Frontinac. This 
proposal being approved by a council of war, Aber- 
crombie placed under his command about three 
thousand troops, nearly all of whom were American 
provincials. His artillery consisted of eight cannons 
and three mortars. When they arrived at Oswego, 
where the two forts had stood from which the En- 
glish had been driven by Montcalm, they found noth- 
ing but ruins — the forts having been destroyed, as 
previously related, by Montcalm. A large wooden 
cross had been left as a memorial. After viewing 
the spot with other than pleasant emotions, they 
embarked in open boats, crossed Lake Ontario, and 
on the 25th of August landed near Frontinac. 
The soldiers soon went to work erecting their bat- 
teries. So near to the fort were they planted that, 
when they opened upon the French, almost every 
* Bancroft. 



EFFECTS OF VICTORY. 195 

shot took effect. The commandant finding that re- 
sistance would prove unavailing, surrendered at dis- 
cretion on the second day. The Indian auxiliaries 
of the French, probably believing that the fort would 
DC obliged to capitulate, deserted, and made their 
escape, so that when the place was taken, Bradstreet 
found only a hundred and ten prisoners — a small 
number to cope with nearly three thousand of the 
enemy. He also found sixteen small mortars, forty- 
six pieces of cannon, and an immense collection of 
various kinds of military stores, provisions, and mer- 
chandise. These stores were destined for Fort Du- 
quesne and other French posts. In addition to these 
he took possession of nine armed vessels, each bear- 
ing fro.n eight to eighteen guns. He leveled the fort 
to the ground, destroyed seven of the vessels, sent 
two to Oswego, and then took away as much of the 
stores as his army could carry. 

The redaction of Fort Frontinac was as dispirit- 
ing to the French as it was encouraging to the En- 
glish. It inspired the latter with increased energy 
in their next expedition, which had for its object 
the subjugation of Fort Duquesne. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

A new Expedition against Duqne'ne — A new Eoad proposed — Wash- 
ington opposes it — The Decision — Washington requests to be in the 
Front of the Army— Grant's Folly — Unexpected Attack — Injudicious 
Conduct of the Highlanders — Panic of the Pennsj-lvanians — Method 
of the Marylanders — Conduct of Washington — Grant a Prisoner — Council 
of War — Going into Winder Quarters — Loyal Ilanning — Another Fight 
— Sad Mistakes — Indian Policy — Indian Deserters — Provincials the best 
Soldiers— Fort Duquesne taken — Nanae altered to Fort Pitt — Pay of the 
Soldiers. 

As Fort Duquesne was one of the strongest 
posts of the enemy in this part of the country, it 
was considered by the EngUsh of great importance 
that it should be taken from them. Although 
Braddock's attempt to reduce it had resulted in 
such a disastrous ai.d fatal defeat, yet the spirit of 
the colonists w^as by no means destroyed, nor their 
desire for its possession in the least degree lessened. 
As, however, its reduction was regarded as a work 
of great magnitude, and as all the colonies w^ere 
deeply interested in the success of the enterprise, 
no one colony was willing to undertake it alone. It 
being admitted to be a matter of general interest, 
the various provinces of Maryland, Pennsylvania, 
Virginia and Carolina, united their forces for its 



A NEW BO AD PROPOSED. 191 

overthrow. The army was under the command ot 
General Forbes, assisted by Colonel Washington, 
who commanded the Virginia forces, and Colonel 
Dagworthy who led the Maryland soldiers. The 
whole army numbered some six thousand. It was 
a fortunate circumstance for the colonists that Mr. 
Pitt was the controlling genius of the British min- 
istry in England. Being deeply impressed with the 
value of the colonies, and with the importance of 
protecting them from the inroads of the Indians 
and the aggressions of the French, he addressed the 
colonies upon the importance of union among them- 
selves against the conunon enemy, and proposed to 
furnish the soldiers with provisions, ammunition, 
tents, and weapons, at the expense of the English 
government. This would throw upon the colonies 
the responsibility of providing only the clothes and 
the wages of the men. This proposition was re- 
ceived with gladness, as the colonies themselves 
were poorly able to defray the expenses of the cam- 
paign. 

General Forbes was in favor of cutting open a 
new road through Pennsylvania to the Ohio for 
the troops to pass through. To this, Washington 
was strongly opposed. The old road, by which 
Braddock had marched, was open, and by that route 
the army could pass without obstruction; but to 
prepare a new road through a primeval forest, over 
17* 



198 WASHINGTON'S REQUEST. 

mountains and across rivers, would necessarily oc- 
cupy a great amount of time, besides greatly in- 
creasing their exposure to ambuscades and sudden 
attacks of the enemy, under circumstances which 
w^ould render it extremely difficult to repel them. 
Washington used every argument in his power to 
dissuade him from this injudicious measure, but was 
unsuccessful. Orders were given for the new road 
to be opened. Although Washington was fully 
convinced of the bad policy of this movement, and 
exerted himself in every possible way to divert 
General Forbes from it, yet so soon as it was de- 
cided upon by his superior officers, he suppressed 
his own dissatistaction, and devoted himself zeal- 
ously to the execution of the plan. He asked the 
privilege of being placed with the Virginia troops 
in the advance of tiie main army, that they might 
act as pioneers in breaking the way, and as scouts 
on the look-out for lurking foes. This request was 
granted, and Washington with his brave Virgin- 
ians were sent ahead to prepare the way, to guard 
against surprise, and to provide intrenchments at 
suitable places where the army might pause in its 
march. This work of cutting a new road through a 
wilderness was extremely slow. When they were 
about fifty miles from Fort Duquesne, winter had 
set in with its unwelcome attendants of frost, rain, 
elect and snow. A council of war was held, whicl 



grant's folly. 199 

decided that it was impracticable to advance any fur- 
ther at present, and therefore operations must cease 
till spring. While making arrangements to go into 
their winter encampment, three of the enemy were 
taken prisoners. They w^ere closely examined re- 
specting the condition of Fort Duquesne, and gave 
such a statement of its weaknesss, that the decision 
to go into winter quarters was reversed, and orders 
were given to push on with as much alacrity as 
possible. 

In the latter part of the month of September Ma- 
jor Grant was sent forward for the purpose of re- 
connoitering the enemy ; he took with him a picked 
corps of between eight and nine hundred men,* 
among whom were more than three hundred High- 
landers, one hundred and fourteen royal Americans, 
one hundred and seventy-six Virginians, ninety-five 
Marylanders, one hundred and twelve Pennsylva- 
nians and thirteen Carolina troops. Under the cover 
of night he took up his position on a hill, a short 
distance from Fort Duquesne. Not satisfied with 
having taken, unknown to his enemy a strong po- 
sition, he resorted to other measures which were 
adapted to irritate them and excite them to a des- 
perate defense. In the morning by way of taunt 
and bravado he ordered the reveille to be beaten 
upon the drums, and the bag-pipes to be sounded 
* Green's Gazette in MeSherry's History of Maryland 



200 CONDUCT OF WASHINGTON. 

in various j: laces. As soon as the garrison discov 
ered what had been done, a party of Indians sallied 
from the fort, and stealthily pursued their way under 
the protection furnished by the banks of the river, 
until they gained an eminence higher than that which 
was occupied by Grant. It was not long before 
they surrounded the English, and opened upon them 
their fire. The Highlanders adopted the most in- 
judicious method of procedure under the circum- 
stances which could have been devised. They 
"were drawn out in close array," which made 
them a conspicuous mark for the enemy, and on 
Tvhich every discharge of their muskets produced 
fatal effects. The consequence was that after many 
of them were slain, the rest retreated. The troops 
from Pennsylvania were panic-stricken and fled at 
the first fire. But the Marylanders and Carolinians 
adopted the Indian mode of warfare. They betook 
themselves ' to the bushes and woods, and under 
the protection which they furnished, fired at the ene- 
my. Washington unfortimately at that time was 
two miles in the rear, where he had been order- 
ed to protect the baggage of the army. As soon 
as the noise of the engagement reached him, he 
urged his men rapidly on to the serene of conflict to 
assist Grant. The Indians fought with great vigor. 
The English were unable to maintain their ground, 
and after a loss of two hundred and seventy-three 



PAINFUL INTELLIGENCE. 201 

killed and forty-two wounded they were compelled 
to flee. The Maryland ers, who had exhibited great 
bravery on the field, with a small number of Vir- 
ginians performed the responsible and perilous duty 
of covering the retreat of the army. Nearly cne 
half of the Maryland troops was either killed or 
wounded. Many prisoners were taken by the In- 
dians, among whom was Major Grant himself. 

It will be remembered that at Braddock's defeat 
before this same fort, the forces under Colonel Dun- 
bar rapidly retreated without pausing at any point 
to make a stand, or to retrieve the fortunes of the 
day. The Indians supposed it would be the same 
on the present occasion ; they did not therefore at- 
tempt any pursuit, but contented themselves with 
what plunder and prisoners they could take from 
the immediate scene of action. A large number of 
them withdrew from the fort and returned to their 
own grounds, notwithstanding the earnest entreaties 
of the French for them to remain with them. This, 
as we shall presently see, operated favorably for the 
English. 

The soldiers who had been defeated were an 
advanced detachment. The main body, under 
Forbes, was slowly following. On the 5th of Xo- 
vember, they reached a military post at Loyal 
Hanning. They here received the painful intelli- 
gence that the advanced guard had been totally 



20*" VICTORY AT LOYAL BANNERING. 

defeaifcJ. The enthnsiasm of the soldiers was 
checked by these unwelcome tidhigs. They felt 
humbled and discouraged. The officers hardly 
Knew what was the better course to pursue, 
whether to continue their march toward the scene 
of action and meet the enemy, who were flushed 
and emboldened by their recent .victory, or go into 
winter-quarters where they were. A council of 
war was held. Owing to the recent defeat, the 
coldness of the season, the difficulty of the roads, 
and the danger of being met under unfavorable cir- 
cumstances by their victorious enemy, it was de- 
cided to be the wiser course to bring the present 
campaign to a close by going into winter quarters. 
The enemy, who were kept constantly informed of 
all the movements of the English, being highly de- 
lighted with the results of the first engagement, 
resolved to follow up their success with another 
attack. For this purpose the French troops, in 
connection with those Indians w^ho had been per- 
suaded to remain at the fort, were ordered to ad- 
vance upon the English. They met at Loyal Han- 
ning, October 12th, and were soon in the midst of a 
severe engagement. The battle was kept up with 
great energy on both sides for four hours. The 
English gamed upon the French and Indians, until 
finally the latter retreated, discomfited, from the 
field, carrying with them their w^ounded and their 



SUDDEN ATTACK. 203 

dead. This was an important engagement. It 
banished the despondency of the English, restored 
to them their courage and energy, and nerved 
them to the cheerful endurance of other fatigues 
and conflicts. At the same time it checked the 
audacity of the French, and sent them back some- 
what broken in spirit. The loss of the English in 
this engagement was sixty-seven killed and wound- 
ed, mcluding both oflicers and men. 

In this engagement the Maryland troops came in 
:or their loss. They had one oflicer and two pri- 
vates killed, one officer and six privates wounded, 
and eleven were missing. The slain officer was 
Lieutenant Prather, the wounded one was Ensign 
Bell. The number of the enemy that fell was not 
known, as they were all removed from the field. 

The defeated army did not retreat far. Burning 
with revenge they hung upon the skirts of the 
English, watching for a favorable opportunity to 
pounce upon them, and recover their lost honors. 
Scouts were frequently sent out by the English, 
to see where the foe was lurking. One of these 
parties fell in on the 12th of November with a de- 
tachment of the enemy. An engagement at once 
took place. A party of Virginians who were at 
hand, hearing the sharp and rapid firing, and sus- 
pecting immediately the occasion, came rapidly to 
the assistance of their friends. But m consequence 



204 IN ^lAN POLICY. 

of a dense fog prevailing at the time, they were 
m'staken for a new detachment of the enemy, and 
unfortunately fired upon as such, by those whom 
they had come to help, before the en-or was discov- 
ered. Among the instances of individual prowess 
which were displayed on that occasion, it is related 
that Captain Evan Shelly, who commanded the 
Maryland Volunteers, had a personal encounter 
with a prominent Indian chief, and succeeded, with- 
out any help, in giving him a mortal wound, and 
leaving him dead upon the field. 

As intelligence of this victory was difiiised among 
the colonies, it banished despondency and awakened 
hope of the successful issue of the campaign. The 
disheartening effects of the previous defeat sub- 
sided, and an increased spirit of patriotic enterprise 
was developed. 

Among the favorable results of this battle was 
the disgust which was awakened in the minJs of 
the Indians toward the French, with whom they 
were in alliance. The truth is, the Indians were 
fighting for pay and plunder. To the interior 
tribes it was a matter of small consequence whether 
the French or the English conquered. They were, 
therefore, willing to take sides with that party who 
would be the most likely to be victorious, and fur- 
nish them with the greatest amount of wages and 
spoils. When, therefore, the French were defeated. 



THE BEST SOLDIERS. 20f 

their Indian allies felt as il they had espoused the 
wrong side. They did not ohtahi so great a num- 
ber of scalps, nor so great an amount of plunder as 
they desired. They, therefore, deserted, and left 
the French to take care of themselves. 

One day a prisoner was taken by Captain Ware 
of the Maryland troops, and brought into camp. 
According to custom, he was examined in order 
that from him might be ascertained the condition 
of the enemy. He gave the pleasing intelligence of 
the withdrawal of the Indians, and the consequent 
weakness of the garrison at Fort Duquesne. After 
the reception of this information, the English com- 
mander determnied to press on and surprise the 
fort before it could receive any reinforcements. 

The deserting Indians said that they had no diffi- 
culty in overcoming the British regulars, but they 
found it impossible to resist the attacks of the pro- 
Aancials — those companies which were composed of 
American colonists. This assertion develops an 
important fact. These "regulars" were soldiers 
who had enlisted in the English army for pay. 
They would go any where, and fight any nation 
against whom they were sent. They had, person, 
ally, nothing at stake but their own hves. With the 
colonists it was far otherwise. They hazarded 
every thing. While, therefore, it was compara- 
tively easy for the Indians to overcome the " regu- 
18 



206 FORT DUQUESNE ABA^T)ONED. 

lars," they found it almost impossible to prevail 
against the colonists. This fact shows that men 
who are lighting for their homes, for the protection 
of wives, children, and all that is most dear to 
them, will exhibit a far greater degree of courage, 
fortitude, and perseverance, than those who engage 
in war merely for glory or for pay. 

Past experience, as well as the assertion of the 
Indians, prompted the commander to give the ad- 
vance to Colonel Washington with his Virginia 
provincials, instead of assigning ii *o one of the im- 
ported British officers. 

Leaving the tents and heavy camj^ equipages be- 
hind, the army pressed on as rapit^ly as possible. 
With Washington in front, marking out the course 
to be i^ursued, attending to the arduous work of open- 
ing a new road, preparing the w^ay, and making de- 
posits of provisions for the main army, and with 
the personal example of the officers, who assisted the 
soldiers in the work, they succeeded m reaching 
the fort by the 24th of November. "When the gar- 
rison found these unwelcome visitors in their neiirh- 
borhood, they were alarmed. Being reduced in 
numbers and in spirit, they had no disposition to 
attempt holding out against the English, who had 
just come from a successful conflict. They decided, 
therefore, to abandon the fort. After collecting 
the most important articles they should want on 



DUQUESNE CALLED FOET PITT. 207 

their retreat, tliey seized the opportunity, when the 
darkness of night would prevent detection, and 
secretly left the fort, fled to the Ohio river, which 
was at hand, took boats and rowed themselves 
down the stream. When, on the next day, the 
English reached the fort, they were surprised and 
pleased to find it abandoned. There was not much, 
however, there, for the French, as. they left, set fire 
to the place. The smoldering embers which were 
still smoking when the English came up, showed to 
what extremity the enemy had been driven. Thus 
this important position, which had already caused 
the colonists so much blood and treasure, was now 
in their possession. The commander resolved that 
two things should be done: First, that the fort 
should be repaired, and put in a good state of de- 
fense. By the combined enterprise of oflicers and 
soldiers, this was soon accomplished. He next re- 
solved that it should receive a new name. As 
Mr. Piit, of the British Parliament, had deeply 
sympathized with the colonists, and had powerfully 
advocated their cause ; and as through his encour- 
agement and assistance, this campaign had been un- 
dertaken, it was determined, as a token of the honor 
in which he was held by the pi-ovincials, to call the 
place Fort Pitt. * Leaving a garrison of two hun- 
dred Virginians to protect the fort, the remainder 
of the army joyfully returned homeward. 
* Now Pittsburg. 



208 PAY OF THE SOLDIEKS. 

The capture of Fort Pitt was a circnmstance of 
great moment in those stirring times. It filled the 
hearts of the colonists with joy, and imparted to 
them new life. Governor Sharp deemed it an oo 
casion worthy of being commemorated by a day of 
public thanksgiving and praise, and he accoidhigly 
issued a proclamation to tl ^t. effect. In addition to 
this, the Assembly of Mai-ylaud, as a testimony of 
gratitude to the patriotic men who helped to con- 
stitute the victorious army, voted to distribute 
fifteen hundred pounds among them. This was ap- 
propriated as follows : — to Lieutenant-Colonel Dag- 
worthy, thirty pounds ; to each captain, sixteen 
pounds ; lieutenant, twelve pounds ; ensign, nine 
pounds ; and to each non-commissioned officer, six 
pounds : the remainder was spent for clothing and 
Other comforts for the private soldiers. 



CHAPTEE XYIII. 

Indian Deputations— An affecting Duty— Searcliing for the Dead— A sin- 
gular Incident— Dreadful Mementoes.— Tragic Scenes— Battle of Niagara 
—French Defeated— Surrender of the Garrison— No Retaliation— Cap- 
tive Soldiers— Are sent to Albany— Women and Children sent to Que- 
bee— French communication between Canada and Louisiana destroyed. 

After Fort Duqnesne was deserted by the French 
and taken possession of by the EngUsh, it was visited 
by deputations of the various tribes of Indians, who 
came to form a friendly alliance with the victors. 
Among these were some who were the adherents 
of the French at the time of Braddock's defeat, and 
who were engaged in that battle. 

With their assistance General Forbes resolved to 
search the woods for the unburied corpses of those 
soldiers, who were slain in that unfortunate cam- 
paign, and bestow upon them the appropriate rites 
of a military interment. A touching account of this 
affecting service is given in Gait's "Life of West." 
He says, "After the taking of Fort Duquesne Gen- 
eral Forbes resolved to search for the reJics of Brad- 
dock's army. As the European soldiers were not 
80 well qualified to explore the forests, Captain West, 
18* 



210 A SINGULAR INCIDENT. 

the elder brother of Benjamm West, the pabiter, 
was appomted,with his company of sharpshooters, to 
assist in the execution of this duty ; and a party of 
Indian warriors, who had returned to the British 
interests, were requested to conduct him to the 
places where the bones of the slain were likely to 
be found. In this solemn and aifecting duty several 
officers, belonging to the forty-second regiment, ac- 
companied the detachment and with them Major 
Sir Peter Halket, who had lost his father and 
brother in the fatal destruction of the army. It 
might have been thought a hopeless task that he 
should be able to discriminate their remains from 
the common relics of the other soldiers; but he was 
induced to think otherwise, as one of the Indian 
warriors assured him that he had seen an officer fall 
near a remarkable tree, which he thought he could 
still discover ; informing him at tlie same time that 
the incident Avas impressed on his memory by ob- 
serving a young subaltern, who, in running to the 
officer's assistance, was also shot dead, on his reach- 
ing the spot, and fell across the other^s hody. The 
major had a mournful conviction in his own mind 
that the two officers w^ere his father and brother ; 
and, indeed, it was chiefly owing to his anxiety on 
the subject that this pious expedition, the second 
of the kind that history records, was undertaken. 
" Captain West and his companions proceeded 



DREADFUL MEMENTOES. 2]] 

through the woods and along the banks of the river, 
toward the scene of the battle. The Indians regard- 
ed the expedition as a religious service, and guided 
the troops with awe and in profound silence. The 
soldiers were aflected with sentiments not less se- 
rious ; and as they explored the bewildering laby- 
rinths of those vast forests, their hearts were often 
melted with inexpressible sorrow ; for they frequent- 
ly found skeletons lying across the trunks of fallen 
trees— a mournful proof, to their imaginations, that 
the men who sat there had perished from nunger, 
while vainly attempting to find their way to the plan- 
tations. Sometimes their feelings were raised to the 
utmost pitch of horror by the sight of skulls and 
bones scattered on the ground— a certain indication 
that the bodies had been devoured by wild beasts; 
and in other places they saw the blackness of ashes 
amid the rehcs — the tremendous evidence of atro- 
cious rites. 

" At length they reached a turn of the river, not 
far from the principal scene of destruction ; and the 
Indian who remembered the death of the two offi- 
cers stopped. The detachment also halted. He 
then looked around in quest of some object which 
might recall distinctly his recollection of the ground, 
and suddenly darted into the wood. The soldiers 
rested on their arms without speaking. A shrill cry 
was soon after heard, and the other guides made 



212 



FINDING DECEASED EEL ATI YES 



signs for the troops to follow them toward the spot 
from which it came. In a short time they reached 
the Indian warrior, who by his cry had announced 
to his companions that he had found the place where 
he was posted on the day of battle. As the troops 
approached he pointed to the tree under which the 




SEARCHING FOR THE DEAD. 



officers had fallen. Captain West halted his men 
round the spot, and with Sir Peter Halket and the 
other officers, formed a circle, while the Indians re- 
moved the leaves which thickly covered the ground. 
The skeletons were found as the Indian expected, 
lying across each other. The officers having look- 



CROWN POINT ABANDONED. 213 

ed at them some time, the Major said that as his 
father had an artificial tooth, he thought he micrht 
be able to ascertain if they were indeed his bones 
and those of his brother. The Indians were there- 
fore ordered to remove the skeleton of the youth, 
and to bring to view that of the old officer. This 
was immediately done ; and after a short examina- 
tion Major Halket exclaimed, ' It is my father !' 
and fell back into the arms of his companions. The 
pioneers tlien dug a grave, and the bones being laid 
in it together, a Highland plaid was spread over 
them, and they were interred with the customary 
honors." The soldiers then returned. 

After the reduction of Fort Duquesne, the En- 
glish were resolved to follow up their advantages, 
and, if possible, to drive the French from all their 
strong posts at the north. A new expedition was 
fitted out against Ticonderoga and Crown Point. 
This was more successful than the former one. For 
when General Amherst approached Ticonderoga 
with an overwhelming force, the French abandoned 
the fort, and hastily retreated to Crown Point. 
Amherst repaired the place, left a garrison for its 
defense, and then followed the retreating soldiers to 
Crown Point. He approached this place with great, 
but, as the event proved, with unnecessary caution. 
For when he reached it, he found it, like Ticon- 
deroga, abandoned. These various forts were of 



214 JOHNSON'S AERANGEMEXTS. 

great importance, and their possession gave the 
English the command of the northern portion of 
New York, and greatly assisted them in extending 
their domains over the American continent. 

General Prideanx was dispatched with an army 
of British regulars, provincials, and Indians, to take 
Fort Niagara, situated on Lake Ontario, at the 
mouth of the Niao;ara river. He engaged in this 
enterprise with commendable spirit, but was killed 
by the bursting of a cannon. 

After this unfortunate event, the command de- 
volved on Johnson. Knowing the great importance 
of conquering Fort Niagara, Johnson, with his ac- 
customed skill and energy, made a judicious dispo- 
sition of his troops, sending some into the trenches 
to prevent a sally from the fort, and arranging 
others at safe intervals along the I'oad from the fort 
to Niagara Falls, to cut oif whatever reinforcements 
might be sent to the French. His Indian allies he 
disposed on the sides or flanks of the army, where 
he believed they Avould render the most essential 
service. On July 24ih. about the middle of the 
forenoon, the French reinforcements, which had 
been expected, arrived. As they approached, the 
Mohawks, who were on the side of the English, pro- 
posed to hold a parley with the Indians who were 
in alliance with the French. This friendly proposal 
was declined. Imn^xcdiately the rocks and forests 



THE FRENCH DEFEATED. 215 

echoed and re-echoed with the horrid, uneartlily 
yells of these savages, who by tlieir war cries indi- 
cated their design of indulging in their favorite di- 
version of shedding blood and gathering the scalps 
of their enemies. The French rushed upon the 
English with great impetuosity, pouring upon them 
a shower of balls which did fatal execution. But 
they were received with great steadiness by the 
little array of Johnson. The battle soon became 
general. The British regulars and provincials 
effectually held them in check in front, while on the 
flank they were severely scathed by the fire of the 
Indians. It was an exciting scene. The mighty 
thundering of Niagara's cataract, mingled with the 
roar of the artillery, the demoniac shrieks of the 
savages, and the groans of the dying. The grass 
and beautiful summer flowers were stained by the 
crimson blood of the slain. Huge volumes of smoke 
rose from the scene of conflict, shutting out the 
light of the sun and concealing the combatants as 
with a cloudy tabernacle. It was all, however, of 
short duration. For with such spirit and steadiness 
did the English continue the engagement, that in 
less than an hour, the French gave way, and com- 
menced to retreat. They were followed so closely 
and vigorously by Johnson, that the retreat soon 
became a rout. They were pursued many miles 
like a drove of hunted deer. Their general and all 



216 DISPOSAL OF THE PRISONERS. 

Lis officers were taken prisoners, Avhile uncounted 
numbers fell, to suffer uncared for, to die unknown, 
and to decay unburied. amid the primeval forests of 
the New World. The next morning, Johnson sent 
word to the commandant of Fort Niagara that all 
his expected reinforcements were cut off, and ad- 
vised him to capitulate without any more shedding 
of blood. When the commandant was convmced 
that this intelligence was correct, he saw the useless- 
ness of attempting to hold out against a victorious 
army with the limited means at his command. Pie 
therefore surrendered at once. The garrison, con- 
sisting of about seven hundred men, were allowed 
to march out with the honors of war, retaining their 
baggage, and to have a safe escort to protect them 
from the ferocity of the Indians. Although there 
were more than a thousand savages in Johnson's 
army, yet none of them were allowed to torture a 
prisoner ; so that the dreadful massacres which oc- 
curred at Fort William Henry and Oswego, were 
not retaliated upon the French. The captive sol- 
diers were taken prisoners of war to Albany ; but 
the women and children were, at their own desire, 
sent to Montreal, while the sick and the wounded, 
who could not be removed, were treated with con- 
siderate humanity. The capture of Fort Niagara 
effectually cut off the French communication be- 
tween Canada and Louisiana, which the English so 



DISPOSAL OF THE PRISONERS. 



217 



much feared. All that now remained was for the 
English to get possession of Quebec and Montreal, 
and the French power in the northern part of 
America would be completely annihilated. How 
this was attempted, and what was the result, will 
be related in the next chapter. 




CHAPTER XIX. 



Situation of Quebec— Its strong Defenses— Montcalm's Army — ^His MiH • 
tary arrangements— A Fleet of Fire-ships — How they are disposed of— 
Batteries erected— Terrific Fire-stages — Battle of Montmorency — Ill- 
judged Assault — The English repulsed- The French fire upon the Wound- 
ed and the Dead — Their Apology for this Cruel. y — General "Wolfe sick — 
A perilous Project — Wolfe approves it — Its great Difficulties — Courage- 
ous Midnight Adventure — Heights of Abraham gained — Preparations for 
Battle— Position of the two Armies — Battle on the Heights— Wolfe's 
Death in Victory— The French Defeated— Death of Montcalm — Quebec 
taken by the English. 



Amoxg the most important operations of the En- 
glish in their contest with France for the conquest 
of the 'New World, were their operations on the 
shores of the magnificent river St. Lawrence. 
Quebec was situated on the northern bank of this 
river, in a high precipitous location, the ascent to 
which, from the water, was exceedingly difficult. A 
few miles below it, that is, toward the east, the river 
Montmorency, a strong, rapid stream, emptied into 
and mingled its waters with those of the St. Law- 
rence, furnishing an important means of defense to 
the town ; while still nearer, the St. Charles in- 
creased the difficulties of approach, not only by its 
channel, but also by immense marshes which were 



A FLEET OF FIKE-SHIPS. 219 

formed by the expansion of its waters over the low 
ftatlands at the eastern base of the town. 

For the protection of the town, in addition to 
its strong natural defenses, General Montcalm had 
six battalionsof soldiers and a number of Indian war 
riors, amounting in all to nine or ten thousand men 
To overcome tliese difficulties, and to conquer this 
strongly intrenched army. General Wolfe had, :n 
British regulars, Provincial soldiers and Indians, 
about eight thousand, who on the 26th of June 1759 
arrived oif the Isle of Orleans, on which they landed 
the next day. They here became acquainted with 
the numerous difficulties of their undertakmg. All 
alon.. below the town, down to the mouth of the 
Montoorency, and for nine miles above it, every 
point on the St. Lawrence, where it was probable 
the English would attempt to land, or from which 
it was possible to annoy them, there were forts, 
batteries, mortars, floating batteries, infl.ammable 
rafts and fire-boats, all ready for use the moment 
any occasion offered. On the night of the 28th, 
aboutl2 o'clock, the English were startled by straiige 
liahts in the river above them ; they grew brighter 
aitd brighter and approached nearer ->'!;«-•-'";- 
til they illumined the whole river, and brought to 
view tl various objects on both shores They were 
a fleet of Hre-ships, which the French had kindled 
and set adrift to be borne down by the combined 



220 TERRIFIC FIRE-STAGES. 

force of the current and of a strong wind which waa 
blowing at the time, in order to set the Enghsh fleet 
on fire. This fleet consisted of forty-four ships, frig- 
ates and other armed vessels, and if any important 
portion of them had been destroyed, it might have 
operated very unfavorably for the whole army. 
This, however, was prevented by the promptness, 
skill, and shrewdness of the British sailors ; for so 
soon as they understood the nature and design of 
this fleet of flame, they manned their small boats, 
rowed toward the burning vessels, grappled them, 
and towed them ashore so that they did no injury 
whatever. The next night the English took posses- 
sion of a point opposite Quebec, called Point Levi. 
They here erected batteries, and commenced throw- 
ing balls and shells into the town. These greatly 
alarmed the inhabitants, and set on fire a number 
of dw^ellings, but they produced no impression upon 
the fortifications. So high was the upper towm above 
the river, that no injury could be inflicted upon it 
by the ships. Engagements frequently took place 
between small parties of the French and English, 
but without any important results. A month roll- 
ed away. On the 29th of July the enemy made an- 
other attempt to burn the British fleet. They con- 
structed a raft of nearly a hundred fire-stages, and 
set it afloat upon the current of the river. It came 
down like a village in flames, but proved harmless. 



BATTLE OF MONTMORENCY. 221 

Wolfe now resolved to draw the enemy into action. 
Various projects were proposed. The most feasible 
one was to attack a strong detachment of the French, 
who had taken their position upon the high bank of 
the Montmorency, near its mouth ; if possible con- 
quer them, and press on toward Quebec. This 
plan was adopted. In attempting to land the troops 
some of the boats got aground and furnished a mark 
for the enemy, who threw their balls and shells 
wherever they could produce execution. After con- 
siderable difficulty a landing was effected. A re- 
doubt was taken. The foremost companies, under 
the excitement of the occasion, immediately rushed 
forward to drive the French from their intrench- 
ments. This ill-judged movement proved disastrous ; 
for they were received with unshrinking firmness 
by the French, who poured upon them such a well- 
directed fire as to throw them into disorder and 
oblige them to retreat. So great was the confusion 
produced by this repulse that it was impossible to 
form these men into line again, even after other 
regiments had arrived, and had come to their relief. 
A thunder-storm now broke upon them, which 
greatily disheartened the English, but encouraged 
the enemy. The newly-arrived troops were brought 
into line with great promptness, and the officers dis- 
played unusual courage, and many of them fell be- 
fore tlie skillful fire of the French. Not satisfied 
19* 



222 A PERILOUS PEOJECT. 

with Ibis, the enemy continued to fire upon those 
who had fallen, Avhether they were wounded or dead. 
When afterward the French officers were remon- 
strated with for this unnecessary barbarity, their 
apology was, that this mal-treatment of the dying 
and the dead proceeded from the Canadians and the 
Indians, whom no discipline could control. This en- 
ffasjement was unfortunate for the En owlish. General 
Wolfe, convinced that at the present time discretion 
was the better part of valor, ordered a retreat to 
the Isle of Orleans, but not till neai-ly five hundred 
men were slain. Wolfe was now taken down with dis- 
ease, and his generals projected a plan of operations 
which they submitted for his consideration. It would 
require great caution, stillness, tact, self-possession, 
and courage, for its execution, still, under favorable 
circumstances it might prove successful. It was well 
adapted to the romantic and adventurous disposition 
of Wolfe, who was thirsting for some opportunity 
to pluck from the hand of fame a wreath of glory. 
The plan was to distract the attention of the enemy 
by various false movements up the river, far above 
the town, and then, under the cover of darkness, to 
effect a landing near the town, climb up the steep, 
precipitous bank, and gain the Heights of Abraham 
before the French should discover their object. 
Although Wolfe was unwell, yet his piercing glance 
had discovered a small cove in the river, from which 



WOLFE UNDAUNTED. 223 

a narrow path, hardly wide enough for ttvoto march 
abreast, led to the summit. This was selected as 
the place by which to gain the coveted eminence. 
It was an enterprise of extreme peril. The stream 
swept down past the cove with a rapid current; 
the shore was shelving ; the bank of the river lined 
with French sentinels; the landing-place so narrow 
as easily to be missed in the dark; and the cliff, 
which must be surmounted, so steep that it was 
difficult to ascend it even in open day and without 
opposition. Should the design be promulgated by 
a spy or deserter, or be suspected by the enemy ; 
should the disembarkation be disordered through 
the darkness of the night, or the obstructions of the 
shore ; the landing-place be mistaken, or one senti- 
nel alarmed— the Heights of Abraham would instant- 
ly be covered with such numbers of troops as would 
render the attempt abortive, and defeat inevitable." 
All this Wolfe knew, and yet in view of it all he 
was undaunted. Believing the proverb that For- 
tune favors the brave, and saying to his men that 
" A victorious army knows no difficulties," he re- 
solved to make the attempt. Accordingly the troops 
were taken on board the vessels, and then the fleet 
sailed several leagues up the St. Lawren(,e, as if with 
the intention of landing at that distance. 

Montcalm dispatched Bougainville with twelve 
or fifteen hundred men to observe their movements, 



224 THE PROJECT EXECUTED. 

and prevent them from reaching the shore. Sev- 
eral pretended attempts were made by the English 
to land. On the 12th of September, about an hour 
after midnight, Wolfe, and about half his army, em- 
barked on board a large number of flat-boats and 
proceeded down the river. No sails nor oars were 
allowed to be used, lest they should lead to a dis- 
covery. Gradually and cautiously did they float 
down with the current, keeping near to the north- 
ern shore of the river, lest they should pass by the 
narrow cove which had been selected as their land- 
ing-place. They came very near being discovered. 
Most of the sentinels on the shore did not observe 
them ; but one or two did, and hailed them. This 
was a perilous moment. If it became known that 
these were boats loaded wnth English, the alarm 
would be given, and instantly the Heights of Abra- 
ham would be covered with the French, and all 
landing effectually prevented ; the enterprise would 
prove a splendid fliilure, and result in the loss of 
many men. All this was escaped by the presence 
of mind of a shrewd Scotchman, who, when they 
were challenged by the sentinels, replied that they 
were a part of the troops of Bougainville, and 
were employed in examining the condition of the 
river and w^atching the movements of the English. 
This Avas satisfactory, and they were allowed to 
proceed. As they were slowly advancing toward 



SCENE XT MIDNIGHT. 225 

their object, Wolfe repeated, in a low tone of voice, 
yet sufficiently loud for his officers in the same boat 
to hear, the beautiful " Elegy of Gray in a Coun- 
try Church-yard," which had been recently printed, 
and which he had received by the last mail from 
England. 

Beneath him were the deep black waters of the 
St. Lawrence, flowing onward with sullen music to- 
ward the ocean ; around him were scattered hun- 
dreds of boats, tilled with thousands of brave hearts 
panting for the achievements of to-morrow ; along 
the shore could be heard the regular foot-falls of the 
pacing sentinel, while here and there were seen the 
glimmering light of the timid or vigilant settler, and 
over all was the dome of heaven, dotted with innu- 
merable stars, twinkling in their remotest depths 
as if they were the eyes of legions of angels gazing 
with trembling interest upon the exciting scene. 
Under such circumstances the suppressed voice of 
Wolfe was heard repeating — 

" The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power, 

And all that beauty, all that wealth ere gave, 
Await alike the inexorable hour ; — 

The paths of glory lead but to the grave," etc. 

Having finished the poem, he added, in low but 
emphatic tones, " Gentlemen, I would rather be the 
author of that poem than take Quebec to-morrow." 
10* 



226 



HEIGHTS OF ABRAHAM UAlJNED. 



About an hour before the dawn, the landing was 
accompUshed, AVolfe being among the first that 
leaped on shore. When he looked up and saw tlie 
steep height to be ascended before success could 
crown their enterprise, he said to an ofiicer, " I 
doubt if you will get up ; but you must do what 
you can." The ships which had been left behind 
arrived soon after. 








ASCENBT^Gr THE HEIGHTS OF ABRAHAM. 

Now commenced the perilous ascent. The 
Scotch Highlanders under Colonel Howe took the 
lead, and were followed by the others with as 
much caution and stillness as was possible. By 
clinging to the branches of trees, projecting rocks, 



T»EEPARATIONS FOR BATTLE. 227 

and roots that protruded from the bank, they man- 
aged to reach the top. Here a Uttle tirmg scattered 
the sentinels, and when the sun rose above the 
horizon, its rays were reflected from the weapons 
of the whole English army. The Heights of Abra- 
ham, were successfully gained. When the intelli- 
gence was conveyed to Montcalm, he could not be- 
lieve it possible. "It can be," said he, "but a 
small party come to burn a few houses and then 
retire." 

But when assured that the whole army of the 
British had gained the heights, he was stai-tled. 
"Then they have finally reached the weak side of 
this miserable garrison," said he; but, nothing 
daunted, he immediately added, " We must give 
battle, and crush them before mid-day." Fully 
realizing the peril of his position, and the immense 
interests dependent upon his movements, he at 
once made arrangements for an engagement. 
Leaving his camp at Montmorency, he passed over 
the St. Charles, hastened onward to the Heights of 
Abraham, and disposed his forces in order of bat« 
tie. Wolfe was soon prepared for his reception. 
The comparative strength of the two armies was 
about equal, each embracing about five thousand 
men. The French had three small cannon, the 
English only one or two. The two commanders, 
personally, took their positions directly opposite 



228 BATTLE OF QUEBEC. 

each other, Montcalm being on the left of the 
French army, and Wolfe on the riglit of the En- 
glish ; they thus confronted each other. The can- 
non of the two armies opened their fire and con- 
tinued sending their balls with more or less effect 
for two hours. An attempt was made by a portion 
of the French troops to attack the English upon 
the side of their line, and force them down the high 
bank into the St, Lawrence. This attempt was 
frustrated by Wolfe, who sent a detachment of his 
soldiers to the threatened position, where they were 
formed with a double front. Montcalm sent for 
fresh troops to come to his aid, but his ardent dis- 
position could not wait for their arrival. He rushed 
forward with his soldiers, and attacked the English 
line with great bravery. They were received ^^ith 
firmness. When Wolfe saw them approaching, he 
ordered his men not to fire till the French were 
within forty yards of them. They then poured into 
them a rapid discharge of small arms, with fatal 
effect. The advance of the French was checked, 
and their ardor quenched, by the galling fire to 
which they were subjected. They soon began to 
waver. Wolfe, seizing an auspicious moment when 
the French companies were broken and irregular, 
ordered his soldiers to charge them with fixed 
bayonets ; they obeyed. They dashed upon them 
with great impetuosity, put the broken troops of 



WOLFE'S DEATH IN VICTORY. 229 

Montcalm to flight at all points, and forced them to 
retreat in a disorderly manner. 

In the early part of the action, Wolfe was wound- 
ed in the wrist. Wrapping his handkerchief around 
his arm, he continued to command and animate his 
troops till he received another wound in his groin. 
Still he would not retire from the field. Conceal- 
ing his misfortune from his men, he led his grena- 
diers to the charge, Avhen a ball struck him in the 
breast, and laid him prostrate upon the ground. 
He was immediately carried to the rear. While 
being supported by one of his lieutenants, he heard 
the cry, "They run, they run!" "Who run?" 
asked the dying Wolfe. "The French," replied 
the officer ; " they have given way at all points." 
" What," said the expiring general, " do they run 
already ?" After sending a f^w orders to his officers 
to make arrangements to head off the fugitives, so 
that they might not escape, he added, " Now, God 
oe praised, I die happy ;" and soon after expired 
upon the field of victory. Graham says of Wolfe : 
" He was intensely studious, and yet promptly and 
vigorously active; heroically bi'ave and determined, 
adventurous and persevering ; of a temper lively 
and even impetuous, yet never reproached as vio- 
lent and irascible ; generous, indulgent, courteous 
and humane, Wolfe was the pattern of his officers, 

and the idol of his soldiers. The force and compass 
20 



230 CAPITULATION OF QUEBEC. 

of his genius enabled him practically to distingnish, 
what inferior minds never discovered at all, the dif- 
ference between great difficulties and impossibilities ; 
and behig undiscouraged by what was merely, how- 
ever, mightily difficult, he undertook and achieved 
what others would have accounted and found to be 
impossible." 

It is a noteworthy coincidence that Montcalm 
found his death upon the same field, and in the 
same conflict. While animating his soldiers at the 
head of his battalion, he received a mortal wound. 
When informed by the surgeon that he could not 
recover, his reply was, "I am glad of it." He then 
asked, "How long shall I live?" "Ten or twelve 
hours ; perhaps less." " So much the better," said 
he, " I shall not live to witness the surrender of 
Quebec." When De Ramsay, the commander ui 
the garrison of Quebec, consulted him respecting 
the practicability of defending the city, he replied, 
"To your keeping I commend the honor of France. 
As for me I shall pass the night with God, and pre- 
pare myself for death." About five o'clock the 
next morning he died. In a few days (September 
17) the garrison of Quebec capitulated. The En- 
glish immediately took possession of it, and found 
in it about ten thousand persons in addition to the 
troops. 

By the terms of capitulation, the inhabitants were 



A FORTUNATE P:VENrT. 231 

to be allowed the free exercise of their religion, 
during the coiitiiiuance of the war, but their politi- 
cal disposition was left to be decided by the home 
governments at tlie close of hostihties. The day- 
after the capitulation, a thousand prisoners were 
sent in transports to Europe. It was a fortunate 
thing for the English that Quebec surrendered so 
soon, as the defeated French forces had rallied, 
had received reinforcements, and were prepared to 
tnrow themselves into the city to assist the garrison 
on the very day it surrendered. 

It was not long after the capitulation of Quebec 
before Montreal fell into the hands of the English. 
By this series of successful engagements, the govern- 
ment of Great Britain obtained complete possession 
of Canada which she has retained ever since. 



CHAPTER XX 



Oppresslv^e Acts of Parliament— American Opposition to them— Famoos 
Stamp Act— Its Design— Its Eflfoct in Maryland— Tlie Maryland 
Gazette — Treatment of Zecliariah Hood — Stamped Paper not allowed to 
be landed — A ridiculous Ceremony — Hood burnt and whipped in Etfigy 
—Popular Feeling more powerful than Government — The Times doleful 
and dollar-less — Stamp Act repealed. 



After the subjugation of Canada, tlie Parliament 
of Great Britain adopted various injudicious and 
unpopular measures toward her American colonies. 
"Without allowing them the right of sending a rep- 
resentative to Parliament, to give a proper state- 
ment of their condition, and to vote in their behalf, 
various oppressive acts were passed that only 
served to irritate the colonies and wean their affec- 
tion from the mother country. Messages, remon- 
strances, protests, and appeals were published by 
the colonists, Numerous exciting meetings were 
called, at which their grievances were discussed, 
and measures of resistance proposed. During these 
painful collisions between England and her Ameri- 
can dependencies, which prepared the way for the 
American Revolution, Maryland uniformily exbib- 



FAMOUS STAMP ACT. 233 

ited a bold front to her oppressors. She took an 
early and a decided stand against the unjust en- 
croachments of the home government. A memor- 
able instance of this was exhibited in her opposition 
to the famous Stamp Act. 

This was an act making it obligatory upon the 
colonists to use paper having the king's stamp upon 
it, in the ordinary transactions of business. If a re- 
ceipt, or note, or any other important business 
document was written upon paper that was not 
stamped, it was not legal, and could not be prose- 
cuted in a court of law. If this paper had been as 
cheap as any other kind, the law requiring its use 
would have been comparatively harmless. But it 
was not. The stamps were to be paid for. It was 
a measure that was designed to increase the income 
of the British treasury. This act consisted of fifty- 
five specific duties, laid on as many difierent docu- 
ments recorded on paper. Two pounds were im- 
posed upon a college diploma ; for a license to sell 
wine, twenty shillings ; for a deed, one shilling and 
six pence ; newspapers were taxed a penny ; pamph- 
lets, a shilling per sheet ; advertisements, two shil- 
lings, and almanacs, four pence. This was in 1765. 
When intelligence of the passage of this act reached 
America, it excited deep animosity. Maryland was 
not behind the otlier colonies in giving expression 
to the most decided opposition. The Maryland 
20* 



234 STAMPED PAPER REJECTED. 

Gazelle was converted into a channel through 
which the burning indignation of the people found 
vent. The pungent articles which there appeared 
served to increase and give permanency to the de- 
testation of the community against this tyrannical 
measure. But the writing of newspaper articles 
was not the only way in which the disj^leasure of 
the public was developed. 

On the 2'7th of August, iVGo, a meeting was held 
at Annapolis, to show the abhorrence of the people 
against the Stamp Act, and the measures which had 
been adopted to circulate the stamped paper among 
the community. A Mr. Zechariah Hood, a native 
of the province of Maryland, who had been to Eng- 
land and purchased a cargo of goods, had been ap- 
pointed to deliver the stamped paper in the province. 
When this fact was known, and also that he had 
brought with him a quantity of the obnoxious paper 
for distribution, the people were determined that 
he should not execute his mission, and that the 
stamped paper should not be landed. When the 
vessel arrived in the harbor of Annapolis, they rush- 
ed to the dock in crowds to prevent Hood from dis- 
embarking. So gi-eat was the excitement that a 
fight ensued, and one of the crowd, Thomas McXier, 
had his thigh broken. Although this was the seat 
of government, so little influence had the officers of 
the crown, that they could not prevent the excited 



HOOD PARADED IN EFFIGY. 



235 



populace from the accomplishment of then* purpose. 
Hood was obliged to draw off, and effect a landing 
secretly. At the public meeting, which was called 
" to show their detestation of, and abhorrence to, 
some late tremendous attacks on liberty and their 
dislike to a certain late arrived officer, a native of 




HOOD RIDING IN BFFIGY. 



thU province! they enviously dvessed up the figure 
of a man, .vhich they placed in a one-horse cart, 
malefactor like, with some sheets of paper m his 
hands before his face. In that manner they paraded 



236 VIOLENT INDIGNATION. 

through the streets of the town, till noon, the bell 
at the same time tolHiig a solemn knell, when they 
proceeded to the hill, and after giving it forty lashes 
save one, which they called giving it the Mosaic 
law, at the whipping-post, placed it in the pillory, 
from whence they took it and hung it on a gibbet, 
there erected for that purpose, and set fire to a tar- 
barrel underneath, and burned it till it fell into the 
barrel. By the many significant nods of the head, 
Avhile in the cart, it may be said to have gone oif 
very penitently." Hood, who was in this indignant 
manner whipped, pilloried, hung and burned in effigy, 
found that Annapolis was a poor market for his 
cargo of merchandise. The people would not trade 
with him. He was compelled therefore to go else- 
where, which he did just before he was executed in 
effigy. In his haste to flee he left behind a quantity 
of tar and feathers with which his fellow- citizens in- 
tended to cover him, as an appropriate reward for 
the zeal he had displayed in the execution of the 
Stamp Act. 

So violent was the indignation of the people against 
this measure of Parliament, that the colonial officers 
in the correspondence with their home govcjrnment 
expressed their inability to see it executed. As a 
specimen of the nature of this correspondence, the 
following extract of a letter is inserted. It is from 
Governor Sharpe to the Earl of Halifax, and dated 



CEOWN OFFICERS PARALYZED. 237 

Annapolis, 5th September, 1765. After giving an 
account of the treatment of Mr. Hood, he says, " To 
what length people, who have made such a begin- 
ning, may go to render the act of Parliament inef- 
fectual, I can not tell, but am very apprehensive 
that if the stamped paper was to arrive here and be 
landed at this time, it would not be in my power to 
preserve it from being burned, as there is no place of 
security here wherein it might be lodged ; and the 
militia is composed of such as are by no means 
proper to be appointed a guard over it ; if therefore 
a vessel should soon arrive here with the stamped 
paper, I shall caution the master against landing it, 
and shall advise him either to lie off at a distance 
from the shore, or return to the men-of war station- 
ed in Virginia until the people show a better dis- 
position, or I have the satisfaction to receive from 
your Lordship some instructions about it." This 
acknowledgment of weakness on the part of the 
civil authorities is additional evidence of the deep- 
seated opposition of the people and of the danger 
which attended the enforcement of this oppressive 
law. 

The acts of Governor Sharpe were in harmony 
with the above letter. For in the following Decern- 
ber another vessel arrived at Annapolis, having on 
board a quantity of the stamped paper for the pro- 
vince of Maryland. But as no person who was 



238 TIMES DOLEFUL AND DOLLARLESS. 

autliorized to receive and distribute it was there tc 
take charge of it, and as the Lower House of the 
provincial Legislature were opposed to its reception, 
it was never landed. Three boxes of this obnoxious 
paper were sent back to England by Governor 
Sharpe in a merchant ship the same month. 

It is the proud boast of Maryland that her soil 
was never polluted with any of this odious paper — 
none was ever landed there. 

Among other modes of expressing the extreme 
regret of the people at the unpopular measure, a 
supplement of the Maryland Gazette was issued in 
deep mourning. Rather than submit to the " intol- 
erable and burdensome terms," which were imposed 
on all newspapers, the editor determined to discon- 
tinue printing the Gazette^ stating in a quaint alli- 
teration that 

The times are 

Dreadful, 

Dismal, 

Doleful, 

Dolorous, 

Dollarless. 
As in the course of a few weeks it became appar- 
ent that the Americans would not submit to this 
unjust measure of Parliament, the editor issued what 
was termed " an apparition of the late Maryland 
Gazette^'''' and resolved to republish his paper, under 



STAMP ACT REPEALED. 239 

the firm conviction that the government Avoiild 
be unable to carry into effect the odious Stamp 
Act. Opposition similar to that of Maryland 
was exhibited in various colonies. As it was 
utterly impossible for the officers of the king to 
carry the stamp act into execution, it was soon 
Repealed by Parliament. This gave great joy to 
the colonies. The repeal was everywhere cele- 
brated with the firing of cannon, bonfires, illu- 
minations, and various other demonstrations of 
Cjladness. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

Arrival of a New Governor — Burning of Tea — The Destruc- 
tion of the Totness — Naval Engagement — Arrival of Lord 
Howe — Battle of Long Island — Trenton Taken — Prince- 
ton Seized — The Affair of Brandy wine — Battle of Ger- 
mantown — Valley Forge — Savannah Attacked — Battle of 
Camden — Cowpens — Eutaw Springs. 

As the treatment of the colonies by the mother 
country was so harsh and arbitrary, it produced 
a high degree of excitement throughout the com- 
munity. Events which, in ordinary times would 
have attracted no especial attention, now awak- 
ened anxious inquiry. Hence, when on the fifth 
of June, 1769, a ship was seen entering the harbor 
of Annapolis, it produced no little commotion. 
Its flags indicated that it had on board some dis- 
tinguished personage. Who can it be? What 
has he come for? What will he do? Will he 
take sides with the colonies or with the op- 
pressor? Presently the ship dropped her an- 
chor, and then fired a salute of seven guns. As 
this was a peaceful demonstration, it was replied 
to by an equal number. It was now ascertained 
that the distinguished passengers on board were 
Robert Eden, Esquire, his lady and family. He 

240 



THE NEW GOVEENOE. 241 

had been appointed by the home government to 
supercede Sharpe in the administration of the 
affairs of the colony. 

When this new Governor landed in the after- 
noon, all the mehibers of the council then in 
town, and a large number of the citizens met him 
and gave him a formal welcome. In addition to 
this, he was honored by a discharge of all the can- 
non on the battery. A few days afterward, at 
about ten o'clock in the morning he entered the 
council house., and there in the presence of his 
lordship's honorable council and the officers of the 
colony, the credentials of his appointment were 
opened and read. As all parties were satisfied 
with the legahty of his appointment, it was pub- 
lished to the colony, and he quietly entered upon 
the duties of his office. But he found the admin- 
istration of affairs no easy task. The people were 
so opposed to the measures of Great Britain, and 
the British Parliament were so determined to re- 
duce them to subjection, that the unfortunate 
Governor found himself between two fires. The 
state of things was bad when he arrived, but they 
constantly grew worse, making his condition 
more and more trying. But in the year of our 
Lord, 1776, when the United Colonies declared 
their independence of Great Britain, and when 
the provisional government of Maryland was es- 
tablished, he acted on the principle that " Discre- 
tion is the better part of valor," withdrew from 



242 OPPOSITION TO IMPORTATION. 

the country and returned to England. He is said 
to have been " a gentleman easy of access, cour- 
teous to all, and fascinating by his accomplish- 
ments." But he was on the wrong side, and not- 
withstanding his courteous and fascinating man- 
ners, he was an obnoxious tory, a sympathizer 
with Great Britain, and opposed to the freedom 
of the colonies. After the war of Kevolution was 
ended, and the independence of the colonies was 
secured, Eden returned to Annapolis, and en- 
deavored to seek the restitution of his property. 
But shortly after his arrival he died. His place 
of burial was under the pulpit of the Episcopal 
church, north of Severn, and within some two 
or three miles of Annapolis. 

England had been in the habit of sending to the 
colonies large quantities of manufactured goods, 
articles of luxury, and various kinds of superflui- 
ties. They found here a large market. After the 
breaking out of the difficulties between the two 
countries, measures were adopted to prevent the 
importations of these. In this movement Mary- 
land took an active part. 

In June, 1769, a large meeting was called at the 
city of Annapolis. At the appointed time a drum 
was heard in the street calling thef people to the 
meeting, which was composed not only of the cit- 
izens of Annapolis, but of gentlemen of the several 
counties of the Province, who formed an organi- 
zation to prevent the importation of "British 



MEETING AT ANNAPOLIS. 



243 



ec Oil- 



superfluities, and for promoting frugality 
omy, and tlie use of American manufactures." 
The articles of agreement which they adopted 
might by some have been regarded as- rather 
stringent. Yet at this meeting it was " Resolved, 
unanimously, that the said articles be most strictly 
adhered to, and preserved inviolate; and that 
each and every gentlemen present at this meet- 
in o- will use his utmost endeavors to those lauda- 
ble ends." 

This was no child's play. These men were sm- 
cere and earnest, as was proved by the following 
facts. Next February the British brig. Good 
Intent, arrived at Annapolis, laden with a cargo 
of British goods. As soon as it was known, a 
meeting was called, at which a committee of 
three were appointed to investigate the matter. 
They did so, and reported "that the goods were 
ordered and shipped contrary to the articles of 
their association, and ought not to be landed." 
This was taking a bold stand. But the commit- 
tee stuck to it, the public sustained them, and the 
result of their firmness was that the brig was 
compelled to return to London, carrying back her 
caro-o of European goods, to the value of fifty 
thousand dollars. The correspondents and agents 
of the British merchants saw by these movements 
how utterly useless would be the attempt to dis- 
pose of English goods in the colony. They there- 
fore came to the determination "not to ship in 



244 BEIG PEGGY STUART. 

future any goods to Maryland but such as would 
be agieeable to the association." 

Another incident involving similar principles 
and action was connected with the brig Peggy 
Stuart. This vessel arrived at Annapolis on the 
fifteenth of October, 1774, having on board two 
thousand three hundred and twenty pounds of 
tea consigned to Thomas Charles Wilhams and 
Company. So soon as this was known, a great 
excitement ensued, and a large public meeting 
was held. After the matter was examined it was 
ascertained "that the Messrs. Williams had, on 
this occasion, imported a larger quantity of that 
detestable plants as it was then termed, than by any 
former opportunity; and that Mr. Anthony Stew- 
art, the pro2metor of the vessel, had paid the 
duties thereon, though he was not in any manner 
concerned in the shipment of the tea. This being 
deemed a submission to the contested claim of the 
British Parliament, very severe censures were 
passed on the parties concerned, and a general 
spirit of resentment appears to have predom- 
inated." 

Another meeting was appointed to consider the 
important questions. How shall we act in this 
emergency, and What shall be done with the tea ? 
It was determined to prevent the landing of the 
tea. The importers of the "detestable plant," 
and the officers of the vessel gave public explana- 
tions of their conduct, in order to mollify the in- 



CARGO OF TEA. 245 

dignation which had been aroused. The document 
of Stewart and the Williams' is of so remarkable 
a character, that we insert it here entire. ISToth- 
ing but a high state of pubHc excitement and a 
sense of great personal danger, would have in- 
duced these gentlemen to send forth such an 
humbling and penitential paper as this : — 

"We, James Williams, Joseph Williams, anrl 
Anthony Stewart, do severally acknowledge that 
we have committed a most daring insult and act 
of the most pernicious tendency to the liberties of 
America; we, the said Williams', in importing 
the tea^ and said Stewart, in paying the duties 
thereon, and thereby deservedly incurred the 
displeasure of the people now convened, and all 
others interested in the preservation of the con- 
stitutional rights and liberties of North America, 
do ask pardon for the same; and we solemnly 
declare for the future, that we will never infringe 
any resolution formed by the people, for the sal- 
vation of the people, and to show our desire of 
living in amity with the friends of America, we 
request this meeting, or as many as may choose to 
attend, to be present at any place where the 
people shall appoint, and we will there commit to 
the flames, or otherwise destroy, as the people 
may choose, the detestable article, which has been 
the cause of this, our misconduct." This was 
signed by the three offenders. But even this 
penitential confession and promise of amend- 



246 BURNING OF Tf:A. 

ment, was not satisfactory to all ; for Stewart had 
made himself so offensive by what was deemed 
his too great readiness to pay the duties, that 
some were anxious to clothe him in a coat of tar 
and feathers, whilst others demanded the de- 
struction of the brig, but a third party said that 
the confession of the offenders with their un ex- 
torted proposition to commit the tea to the flames, 
was sufficient punishment and satisfaction. Fi- 
nally, Stewart was induced, especially through the 
advice of Charles Carroll, of Carrol Iton, to offer 
to set fire to the vessel himsL'lf. This proposition 
being received with favor, Stewart immediately 
went on board the brig, ordered her to be run 
aground near Wind JMill Point, where he applied 
to her the torch, rnd soon converted her into a 
whole burnt offering upon the altar of American 
Liberty. The vessel with all her cordage, spars, 
sails and cargo, was converted to ashes. 

This was not the only instance in which the in- 
dignation of the people was exhibited towards 
this offensive article. In the winter of 1774, it 
was discovered that John Parks had a chest of it. 
When this became known another excitement was 
created. A committee waited upon Mr. Parks, 
and demanded of him that he give up the tea. 
He consented to deliver it on a certain day. At 
the appointed time a meeting was held for its re- 
ception in Elizabeth Town (now Flagerstown). 
The committee in their report accused Parks of 



MOKE TEA BURNING. 247 

falsehood, but after carefully considering the sub- 
ject they finally decided " That John Parks should 
go with his hat off, and lighted torches in his hand, 
and set fire to the tea, which he accordingly did, 
and the same was consumed to ashes amid the ac- 
clamations of a numerous body of people" The 
committee also expressed the opinion that no one 
ought to have any intercourse with Parks, and all 
the friends of Liberty were requested to shun 
him. This, however, was not severe enough to 
satisfy all. There were those who thought a 
heavier punishment ought to have been inflicted, 
and they could not be satisfied until they had as- 
saulted his house, breaking in the windows and 
dashing down the door. 

These tea-biu'nings in Maryland, viewed as 
exhibitions of the love of Liberty, of determina- 
tion to resist the usurpations of Great Britain, 
and of self-denial in the defense of colonial 
rights, are worthy of being recorded on the same 
page with the destruction of the tea in Boston 
harbor. In some respects the Marylanders dif- 
fered widely in their mode of operation from the 
Bostonians. Everything which they did was 
open. There were no secret meetings, no decep- 
tion, no disguise. Their discussions upon the 
subject were public. The men who presided and 
those who took part in the proceedings, were 
willing to be known, and instead of assuming the 
appearance of Indians and destroying the tea 



248 BURNING OF THE TOTNESS. 

secretly, they publicly api^ointed the importers 
and the owners of it to apply the torch whilst 
they openly aided in the matter. They were 
willing to assume the whole responsibility. 

Another incident, involving similar principles 
as those developed in the burning of the tea, was 
the following: — The ship Totness, Captain Hard- 
ing, on her voyage from Liverpool to Baltimore, 
in coming u]^ the bay, unfortunately ran aground, 
in the vicinity of the Three Islands, at the mouth 
of West River. When information of this acci- 
dent was communicated to the committee, they 
immediately called a meeting, and considered 
what course should be pursued. It was ascer- 
tained that the cargo consisted of salt and dry 
goods. After deliberation the committee decided 
to allow her to proceed to Baltimore. When 
this became known to the public it met with 
strong opposition. They regarded it as a flagrant 
infringement of the principles adopted by the 
continental association, and were determined that 
it should not be carried into effect. They would 
not allow British manufactures to be entered at 
the custom house. Excitement ran high, until 
finally a number of the more determined and 
earnest ones cut the controversy short by going 
on board the obnoxious vessel and setting her on 
fire! 

Not only were the Marjdanders determined to 
burn offensive merchant vessels that might enter 



EXCITEMENT AND INDIGNATION. 249 

her harbors, but they were ready also to attack 
naval ones when the occasion offered. 

On the fifth of March, 1776, mtelligence 
reached Annapolis that a British man-of-war, 
accompanied by two other vessels, was coming up 
the Bay. It was also stated that they had cap- 
tured a New England schooner. All this was 
startling news. In a few hours she could be be- 
fore Annapolis and bombard the city. The whole 
community were in commotion. Swift expresses 
were sent to Baltimore and other places, to give 
the alarming information. Providentially a storm 
arose, which hindered the progress of the vessels, 
so that, although the news of their apjjroach was 
received on Tuesday, it was not until Thursday 
afternoon that they arrived opposite the city. 
In the mouth of the harbor was a small vessel 
ladened with oats. This they seized, as they 
came up, and set on fire. Its destruction in- 
creased the excitement and indignation of the 
colonists, and they prepared, as well as they 
were able, for the reception of the unwelcome 
visitors, who proved to be the sloop-of-war, Otter, 
and two tenders. Another large vessel in their 
company was an American ship, commanded by 
Captain Hudson, loaded with wheat and flour, 
which the Otter had seized as a prize. At Balti- 
more was the ship Defence, and the general im- 
pression of the people was that the Otter was 
going there to cut it out of the harbor, but if this 



250 EECAPTUEE OF VESSELS. 

were impossible, then to destroy it. The Balti- 
moreans having received information of the 
movements of the Otter, immediately got the 
Defence ready for action ; manned her Avith a 
crew of brave hearts, throbbing with a desire for 
an op23ortunity to test their corn-age and their 
skill in an engagement with the enemy, and then 
towed her down the river, accompanied by sev- 
eral smaller crafts, filled with men ready to assist 
in the conflict, if any should occur. It was the 
plan of Captain Nicholson, of the Defence, to re- 
take Hudson's vessel from the tenders, which 
were protecting it, and if the Otter made any at- 
tempt to prevent this, then to attack her. He 
got away early on Saturday morning, and as the 
weather was thick and hazy, the Defence got 
much nearer to them before discovery than they 
had hoped for. So soon as the crew of the 
tenders discovered her approach, they appeared 
greatly alarmed, and pushed off with the greatest 
haste, but finding themselves making slow prog- 
ress, they gave a signal to the Otter for help, who 
immediately sent them more hands to aid in 
rowing them from danger. Captain Nicholson 
succeeded not only in recapturing Hudson's ship, 
but also in taking three or four other small 
prizes, which were under the protection of the 
tenders. After these successes, and after man- 
ning Hudson's ship, he prepared the Defence for 
action with the Otter, and waited for her to come 



PREPAETNG FOR WAR. 251 

to the attack, as he expected she would. But she 
did not come. She waited farther down the 
Bay, some two hours, as if expecting the Defence 
to move down to her, and then bore away to 
Annapolis, leaving Nicholson in the unmolested 
possession of his prizes, and master of the situa- 
tion. 

The war between Great Britian and America 
was now in full blast. The whole of the thirteen 
colonies were aroused, and had united in one com- 
mon cause. In Maryland, as in the other prov- 
inces, great meetings had been called, spirited, 
patriotic and soul-stirring addresses had been de- 
livered, and had been received with the heartiest 
applause. Recruiting offices had been opened in 
the different cities and towns, and large numbers 
of the young and the brave had enlisted for the 
defence of their liberties and their rights. They 
were not allowed to remain long in their camps. 
In July, 1776, intelligence reached Maryland from 
Philadelphia, of the following purport: "General 
Howe has landed a great body of troops on 
Staten Island. * * ^ The battalions of our 
city (every one of them) are marching to Trenton 
and Brunswick in the Jerseys. * * =* It is 
expected that the lower counties and Maryland 
will immediately march their quotas of militia, to 
compose the flying camp, (under the command of 
General Washington) to this city, to defend it in 
the absence of its own battalion. Your hour of 



252 A BATTLE FOUGHT. 

trial is come, your plighted faith, your publit 
honor, the love of your country, and its dearest 
liberties, in this moment of imminent danger, de« 
mand that you instantly fly to the assistance of a 
sister colony." 

Another letter said : "An express has just ar- 
rived from General Washington. Howe's array 
consists of ten thousand men. Admiral Howe is 
hourly expected with a hundred and fifty sail, 
having on board twenty thousand troops. The 
enemy's grand army will consist of thirty thou- 
sand. The whole militia of this province is 
ordered to the Jerseys. We are in anxious ex- 
pectation to hear from Maryland, nor can we for 
a moment entertain a doubt, that our brethren 
will not desert us in the hour of our distress. The 
farmers here have left their harvest, and cast away 
the scythe for the musket. I should rejoice to 
hear you have imitated such an example." 

The Marylanders did imitate this glorious ex- 
ample. In August of this year an important 
battle was fought on the southern part of Long 
Island, in the vicinity of New York. The British 
had landed some twenty-four thousand troops at 
Grass End Bay. The army of the Americans, 
consisting of fifteen thousand men, were assem- 
bled at the Wallobout, an expansion of the East 
River, between New York and Long Island, just 
above Brooklyn. When the two armies were 
arranged in order of battle, they were on oppo- 



THE AMERICANS DEFEATED. 253 

site sides of a range of hills, covered with a thick 
wood. The Americans were commanded by 
Washington, and the British by Howe. Both 
sides fought with great courage and skill. Dur- 
ing the progress of the battle, the British managed 
to^turn the left flank of their opponents, by 
throwing a portion of their army in the rear of the 
Americans. This brought that portion of the 
Americans between two fires, which soon de- 
feated them. The other divisions were equally 
unsuccessful, so that after a bloody day's work, 
the Americans were defeated, and the English 
left masters of the field. Lossing says that the 
whole number actively engaged on this occasion 
was about five thousand Americans, and fifteen 
thousand of the enemy. Admitting that there 
were three to one, it is not surprising that the 
British conquered, neither was it a victory that 
justified great boasting. Yet on account of it 
the King of England conferred the honor of 
knio-hthood on the British commander, so that 
he became Sir William Howe. The British loss 
in this engagement was about four hundred, and 
that of the Americans twelve hundred, including 
about a thousand who were taken prisoners. 

The part which the Marylanders took in this 
eno-ao-ement, and their conduct on the occasion, 
is "^hown in the following extracts from letters 
written immediately after the conflict: "New 
York, August 27, 1776. I sit down in the midst 



254 BEAYERY OF AMERICAN TROOPS. 

of confusion to tell you that our people have been 
engaged with the enemy on Long Island, all tliis 
morning, and are at it yet ; we cannot get par- 
ticulars. 

"P. S. The first battalion of Ncav York, Col- 
onel Lasher, and the Pennsylvania and Maryland 
battalions behaved with the greatest bravery, even 
to a fault. They were commanded by Lord 
Stirling. We forced the enemy into their lines." 

"Philadelphia, August 31. 

"You will no doubt be very anxious to receive 
a particular account of the late engagement be- 
tween our troops and the enemy on Long Island. 
Smallwood's battalion of Marylandcrs were dis- 
tinguished in the field by the most intrepid 
courage, the most regular use of the musket, and 
judicious movements of the body. When our 
party was overpowered and broken by superior 
numbers surrounding them on all sides, three 
companies of the Maryland battalion broke the 
enemy's lines and fought their way through. 
Captain Veasey and Lieutenant Butler are among 
the honorable slain. The Maryland battalion lost 
two hundred men and twelve officers — severe 
fate. It is said our whole loss is five or six hun- 
dred." 

Another letter from New York, September 1st, 
states, " Last Monday morning we w^ent over to 
Long Island, and about midnioht we were 



WASHINGTON CROSSES THE DELAWARE. 255 

alarmed. Upon which three thousiind men were 
ordered out, consisting chiefly of the Pennsylvania 
and Maryland troops. * * Our orders were 
not to fire until the enemy came within fifty yards 
of us, but when they perceived we stood their fire 
so coolly and resolutely, they declined coming 
any nearer, though treble our number. In this 
situation we stood from sunrise to twelve o'clock, 
the enemy firing upon us the chief part of the 
time, when the main body, by a rout we never 
dreamed of, had entirely surrounded us, and drove 
within the lines, or scattered in the woods, all 
our men except the Delaware and Maryland 
battalions, who Avere standing at bay with double 
their number, hrohe the enem.y's lines arid forced 
their loay through. * * * When they began 
the attack. General Washington wrung his hands, 
and cried out, ' Good God! lohat brave fellows I 
must this day lose.' " 

After the battles on Long Island and at White 
Plains, General Washington retreated with his 
army into New Jersey. He successfully crossed 
the Delaware and established some of his troops 
in Philadelphia. The British, with some fifteen 
hundred Hessians, were at Trenton. Other 
smaller detachments occupied Bordentown, Bur- 
lington, Black Horse and Mount Holley. When 
General Washington received information of the 
scattered condition of the enemy, he said, "Now 
is the time to clip their wings, they are so spread." 



256 ATTACK ON TEENTOIf. 

He determined to recross the Delaware, and at- 
tack the Hessians at Trenton. His plan was to 
break his army into three divisions, put one vinder 
General Cadwallader, anotlier under General 
Ewing, and reserve the third for himself. These 
divisions were to cross the river at different 
points. As it was winter, and a great amount of 
floating ice was in the river, the divisions of Cad- 
wallader and Ewing were unable to cross. Wash- 
ino-ton alone was successful. It was the nig-ht 

o o 

of the twenty-fifth of December. AYashingtou 
had hoped to have gotten across by midnight, 
but the severe cold w^eather and the numerous 
blocks of floating ice created delay, so that he did 
not get his troops over until three o'clock in the 
morning. At four they commenced their march. 
Colonel Rahl, who commanded the Hessians at 
Trenton, had received information that he would 
probably be attacked on Christmas night. He 
had therefore made preparations for the reception 
of the Americans. Now it so happened that 
Captain Washington (not the General) had been 
for some days on a scouting party in the Jerseys, 
with a company of fifty soldiers on foot. He 
knew nothing of the General's contemplated 
attack on Trenton. So he approached it him- 
self, met the pickets, exchanged a few shots, and 
then retreated. The Hessians supposed that this 
was the threatened attack, and after the invaders 
retreated they felt secure. Captain Washington 



SURRENDER OF THE HESSIANS. 257 

happened to retreat by the very way along which 
t]ie General was coming towards Trenton. When 
they met, he joined his force with that of the 
commander-in-chief. At first it was feared that 
the Captain's visit might have put the Hessians 
on their guard, but as the Delaware was crossed, 
and the army had come for the very purpose of 
attack, it was determined to press on without 
delay. The night was intensely cold, accom- 
panied with sleet, snow, and slippery roads. Tlie 
army was formed into two divisions, one com- 
manded by General Sullivan, the other by Gen- 
eral Green. General Washington was witli the 
latter. They reached Trenton about eight o'clock 
in tlie morning, and immediately attacked the 
city at two different points at the same moment. 
The Hessians, after a slight resistance, attempted 
to retreat to Princeton, but were prevented by 
the Americans. Finding themselves surrounded, 
they were obliged to surrender themselves pris- 
oners of war. The casualties of the engagement 
consisted of between thirty and forty Hessians 
killed, including Colonel Rahl, their commander. 
Of the Americans only ten were killed and 
wounded. The advantages gained were nearly a 
thousand prisoners, Hessians, six brass cannon, a 
thousand stand of arms and a considerable quan- 
tity of ammunition. This sudden and brilliant 
victory was a great surprise to the British, and a 
great encouragement to the colonists, who had 
17 



258 



Lecome despondent on account of the ill-success 
of their arms. It showed two important things 
— first, that the tide of victory was turning, and 
second, that the Hessians were not the terrible 
and invincible foes which they had been described 
to be. Though at that time Philadclpliia was 
held by the Americans, many of the citizens sym- 
pathized with the British, and hoped they would 
succeed in suppressing what was called the 
American rebellion. This party denied that tlie 
Hessians had been conquei'ed. Washington there- 
fore had the prisoners taken to Philadelphia, and 
marched through the streets, that friends and foes 
might have visible evidence of the reality and ex- 
tent of the victory. 

A week after the capture of the Hessians, 
Washington's force was increased by the addition 
of those of Generals Mifflin and Cadwallader, 
making the whole number about five thousand 
men. Lord Cornwallis was at Princeton. Know- 
ing that Washington remained at Trenton, he 
collected his army, and moved towards him. 
Washington moved his force across the Assump- 
nick Creek, which ran through the town, and 
erected entrenchments and barriers for his protec' 
tion. The attempt of the British to cross the 
Creek was met with strong opposition. Corn- 
wallis, finding all the passes strongly guarded, 
concluded to wait for reinforcements till next 
day, before commencing a general engagement. 



AN ENGAGEMENT. 259 

Washington, believing that in view of the strong 
force of the enemy, a battle would be hazardous, 
and that, in case of defeat, he would be unable to 
take his retreating array safely across the Dela- 
ware, still filled with floating cakes of ice, he re- 
solved upon another course. After dark, and 
when the enemy were asleep, he quietly drew off 
his forces from Trenton, leaving only a few men 
working with pickaxes, and a few fires burning, 
to give the enemy's sentinels the impression that 
the}^ were still there, and engaged in measures for 
their protection. About dawn these few men 
left, and hastily followed after the retiring army, 
which was rapidly marching towards Princeton, 
with the intention of defeating the force which 
Cornwallis had left there, and then hastening to 
New Brunswick and capturing the large quantity 
of military stores which the English had col- 
lected at that place. ^On his way to Princeton, 
Washington met two regiments, which Cornwallis 
had ordered to join him at Trenton. This was 
about a mile and a half from Princeton. An 
engagement at once began. The British com- 
mander sent back to Princeton for another regi- 
ment, which soon came up. After fighting about 
an hour, the American militia became frightened, 
and fell back in great confusion. General Mercer 
strove hard to rally them, and in so doing re- 
ceived from the enemy a fatal wound. The 
British now charged with fixed bayonets. W ash- 



260 BEITISII TAKEN PRISONERS. 

ington, seeing that the van of his army wore 
being driven back, immediately brought up the 
main body and attacked the enemy with great 
spirit. He was well sustained by the soldiers 
who had aided him in taking Trenton a week 
before, who fought with such bravery that thoy 
succeeded in reaching Princeton, driving tlie 
enemy before them, one party of whom fled to the 
college, but after receiving a few discharges of 
cannon, came out and delivered themselves up as 
prisoners of war. The majority of those who had 
been left, or been driven there, made a rapid re- 
treat towards New Brunswick. About one hun- 
dred of the British were killed, and three hundred 
taken prisoners. The Americans lost about a 
hundred. 

When the day broke at Trenton, Corn wal lis 
and his army were greatly surprised to find no 
enemy in front of them. Believing that the cap- 
ture of the stores at New Brunswick was their 
object, he at once pursued them. His van arrived 
at Princeton about the same time that the rear- 
guard of the Americans did. This placed Wash- 
ington in a critical position. For two days his 
soldiers had had no rest. They were so ex- 
hausted that after the battle at Princeton, many 
of them actually fell down overpowered for want 
of sleep. Washington knew that they were in no 
state to fight another battle : he therefore relin- 
quished the idea of pressing to New Brunswick, 
and retreated northwardly, to Morristown. 



BATTLE OF BRANDYWINE. 261 

On the eleventh of September the two armies 
met again by the river Brandywine. 

The British troops were under tlie direction of 
Howe, Cornwalhs, and Knyphausen, whilst the 
Americans were commanded by Wasliington, 
Sullivan and Armstrong. The battle was opened 
by an attack upon the division of Knyphausen, 
which was unsuccessful. The object of Knyphau- 
sen was to keep the Americans engaged so as to 
give Cornwallis an opportunity of turning their 
flank, and getting in their rear without being dis- 
covered. Washington suspected this manoeuvre, 
and sent patrols in that direction to ascertain the 
facts. A message from Gen. Sullivan informed 
him that a large number of the British were 
crossing the Brandywine. Washington ordered 
Sullivan to attack them at once, whilst he would 
treat Knyphausen in the same manner. But 
nothing was accomplished. The movements of 
Cornwallis had been made so early, secretly and 
swiftly, that he succeeded in gaining a command- 
ing height within two miles of Sullivan's flank. 
So soon as Sullivan saw the red coats crowning 
the hill, he commenced making arrangements to 
attack them, but before they were completed, 
the troops of Cornwallis bore down upon him 
with great fury, broke his line, threw all the rest 
into confusion, and drove them from the field. 

So soon as Knyphausen heard the firing in that 
direction, and knowin^^r that it indicated the sue- 



262 LAFAYETTE AND PULASKI WOUNDED. 

cess of Cornwallis' movement, he cliangecT liia 
position, crossed the Brandy wine, and attacked 
the American entrenchments at Chad's Ford. 
General Wayne defended the post with great 
courage. But as he had only a single division to 
oppose to one half of the Bdtish army, his 
efforts, though very gallant, were unable to resist 
the overwhelming numbers of the enemy. 

General Green's division occupied a portion be- 
tween Wayne's and Sullivan's, where it could send 
assistance to either, as emergencies might require. 
Hence, when Sullivan retreated, Green sent troops 
to cover the retreat. These reinforcements, after 
seizing a pass about a mile from Dilworth, at- 
tacked the enemy, arrested their pursuit of Sul- 
livan and carried on for some time a warm 
engagement. When the firing here ceased, the 
battle ended leaving the British in possession of 
the field. According to Marshall, the English 
had in this engagement eighteen thousand men, 
and the Americans only eleven thousand. It was 
in this battle that two distinguished foreigners, 
who had espoused the American cause, were 
wounded; the first Avas Count Pulaski, a coura- 
geous Polander, whose bravery was such that he 
was soon after made a Brio^adier General. The 
other was the Marquis de Lafayette. He was 
disabled for two months by a wound in the leg, 
and would have been made a prisoner at the 
ume he was wounded, if his aid-de-camp, M. 



ATTACK ON GERMAN TOAVN. 2G3 

GeiQat, had not placed him upon his horse, and 
escaped with him. A line of Maryland soldiers 
were in this battle, and shared the fortunes of the 
day. The British troops now pressed forward, 
and although they met with opposition, it was not 
sufficient to prevent them from entering and 
taking possession of Philadelphia. After making 
the necessary arrangements to keep possession of 
that city, Howe pushed forward as many troops 
as he could spare to Germantown. The posses- 
sion of Philadelphia by the British was a great 
blow to the Americans, as that was the capital 
of the country. It was the design of Washington 
to attempt its recapture so soon as circumstances 
seemed to be favorable. When, therefore, he 
heard that several detachments of the English 
army had been sent away from Germantown on 
different expeditions, and that in this way the 
army there was considerably weakened, he con- 
sidered it an auspicious time to make an attack 
there, and so open the way to the capital. Ac- 
cordingly on the evening of the third of October, 
he broke up his camp and started for German- 
town. After marching fourteen miles in the 
darkness, he surprised the British in the morning, 
by showing himself before Germantown. Sulli- 
van, who led the advance, accompanied by 
Washington, drove in the pickets, engaged the 
light infantry and forced them from their ground. 
The English lieutenant. Colonel Musgrove, on his 



264 HARD FIGHTING. 

retreat, took possession of a strong stone house, 
and as the Americans came up, he ordered his 
soldiers to fire upon them from the doors and 
windows. In that way he did much execution, 
killing and wounding not a few. Washington 
called up a brigade and ordered them to surround 
the house. But the gallant Musgrove continued 
to fight. Four pieces of cannon were then 
brought up and pointed against the house. Still 
Musgrove refused to surrender. He endured the 
fire of the cannon with great bravery and pa- 
tience, until Major General Gray, with the third 
brigade, and Brigadier General Agnew, with the 
fourth, presented themselves for his relief. These 
attacked the Americans with great zeal. General 
Green now arrived with his troops, and engaged 
the right wing of the British. A part of this 
wing were sent to attack the Americans on the 
opposite side of the town, while General Grant 
was engaged in assisting Green's column. As it 
Avas a dim, misty morning, rendered more gloomy 
by the smoke of the battle, the Americans found 
it difficult to discover the precise state or location 
of their moving enemy. Embarrassments also 
sprang up among themselves, which gave the 
enemy time to recover from the consternation 
into which they were thrown by the suddenness 
of the arrival of the Americans. Judging from 
appearances, it would seem as if the Americans 
ought to Avin the day. Sullivan's division has 



WINTER QUARTERS. 2G5 

pushed itself far into the town. If the other 
divisions show similar spirit, the battle wdll be 
ours; but instead of this the main body of the 
army begins to retreat. Their officers endeavor 
in vain to prevent it, and soon the whole army 
follow their unfortunate example, leaving two 
hundred killed, six hundred wounded, and four 
hundred prisoners; whilst the killed and wounded 
of the British are six hundred. Many Maryland 
volunteers were engaged on this occasion, not a 
few of whom lost their lives, amongst whom was 
the " patriotic Cox," captain of one of the Mary- 
land companies. 

As the cold weather approached, Washington 
sought a suitable place for his winter quarters. 
Not only did he desire a comfortable position, but 
one sufficiently near the enemy to have his eye 
upon them, and to keep them within somewhat 
straightened limits. After examining several 
places, he finally selected a deep, dreary, but safe 
valley or hollow, betw^een the hills, about twenty 
miles north-west of Philadelphia, and known as 
Valley Forge. The soldiers were so miserably 
clad that to oblige them to spend the winter 
months in canvas tents could not be thought of. 
So Washington ordered a large number of huts 
to be erected, composed of logs filled in with 
mortar or clay, each sufficiently large to accom- 
modate twelve men. This was done, and the men 
made their home in these extemporized bar- 



266 PETTATIONS AND 

racks. 'Now commenced one of the most painful 
experiences of the war. An army of over eleven 
thousand was there encamped, many of whom 
were utterly without shoes or stockings, and 
nearly naked, ohhged to sit up night after night, 
shivering round their miserable fires to keep them- 
selves from freezing, instead of going to sleep and 
obtaining the repose which their exhausted na^ 
tures required. Food also became scarce, and 
famine stared them in the face. When the men 
passed from hut to hut, or appeared on parade, 
many of them did it with naked, lacerated feet, 
which left their blood-marks in the snow. As the 
men had to collect their own fuel, and as there 
were but a few horses in the army, they were 
obliged to construct rough sleds, yoke themselves 
to them, and draw their wood from the forest 
into camp. Others performed the service of pack 
horses, and carried heavy bundles of faggots upon 
their backs. Yet, notwithstanding all their suf- 
ferings, the army, as a general thing, exhibited 
great j^atience. Patriotism sustained them. The 
love of self was absorbed in the love of country. 
General Washington in a letter to Congress said, 
'*For some days there has been little less than 
famine in the camp. A part of the army have 
been a week without any kind of flesh, and the rest 
three or four days. Naked and starving as they 
are, we cannot enough admire the incomparable 
patience and fidelity of the soldiers, that they 



SUFFEEfNGS. '2Q7 

>'t\ve not been ere this excited by their suffering 
to- a great mutiny and dispersion. Strong symp- 
toms, however, of discontent have appeared in 
particuUir instances ; and nothing but the most 
active efforts everywhere can long avert so 
shocking a catastrophe." A letter from a com- 
mittee, appointed by Congress, to Mr. Laurens, 
president of tliat body, says, "Indeed nothing 
could surpass their suffering, except the patience 
and fortitude with which it was endured by the 
faithful part of the army." Unprepared as the 
soldiers were to keep their thin matrasses from 
the cold, wet ground, they were often obliged to 
sleep in damp, freezing beds. This, combined 
with their miserable food and thin clotliing, 
brought on diseases which rapidly tliinned their 
ranks. Out of the whole number of eleven thou- 
sand ninety-eight, when their encampment in 
Valley Forge commenced, two thousand eight 
hundred and ninety-eight were unfit for duty. 
Before the flowers of spring began to shed their 
fragrance in the valley, many of those poor fel- 
lows, with others who were well when they en- 
tered there, had laid down to their long last 
^leep. In these privations and sufferings Mary- 
land officers and soldiers endured their share. 

In the early part of 1778 a legion of cavalry 
and infantry was raised, composed in part of 
soldiers from Maryland, and placed under the 
connnand of Count Pulaski, a distinguished 



268 COUNT PULASKI. 

Pokinder, who came to Ibis country after his own 
had lost its independence by a coalition of 
Austria, Russia and Prussia, who under the guise 
of protection, robbed Poland of its freedom. In 
February, 1779, the gallant Pulaski, with his 
newly formed legion, commenced his march to 
South Carolina, for the purpose of putting him- 
self under the orders of General Lmcoln. He 
reached Charleston, May 8, and was surprised 
to find the Governor and council considering 
the expediency of surrendering the city to tlie 
British army. He vigorously opposed the project, 
and it was defeated. The British, who were 
then in front of the city, soon after withdrew. 
They knew that General Lincoln was coming to 
the relief of the city. Pulaski with his legion 
pressed on to Savannah. About the same time 
Count D'Estaing arrived with a fleet of twenty 
sail of the line, two of fifty guns, and eleven 
frigates. As soon as Lincoln heard of his ar- 
rival he commenced his march towards Savannah. 
Orders were also sent out for the militia of 
Georgia and South Carolina to assemble at the 
same place. Before the army of Lincoln ar- 
rived. Count D'Estaing demanded the surrender 
of the town to the arms of France. Prevost, 
the commanding ofiicer of the city, asked, in 
reply, for twenty-four hours cessation of arms in 
order to prepare terms. Unfortunately his re- 
quest was granted, and this gave time for the 



ATTACK ON CHARLESTON. 269 

Britisli Colonel, Maitland, to arrive with eight 
hundred men. This timely increase of their army 
strengthened and encouraged them so greatly, 
that instead of preparing terms of smTcndei", they 
sent a defiant answer to the Count, that they 
Avould defend the city to the last extremity. It 
was now decided to besiege the city. On the 
fourth of October, the batteries of the besiegers 
were opened with nine mortars, thirty-seven 
pieces of cannon from the land side and fifteen 
from the water. It being at length ascertained 
that considerable time would be necessary to re- 
duce the garrison by regular approaches, it was 
determined to make an assault. In pursuance of 
this determination, while two feints were made 
with the militia, a real attack was made on Spring 
Hill battery just as daylight appeared, with two 
columns, consisting of thirty-five hundred Frencli 
troops, six hundred continentals, and three hun- 
dred and fifty of the inhabitants of Charleston. 
The principal of these columns, commanded by 
Count D'Estaing and General Lincoln, marched 
boldly up to the lines; but a heavy and well 
directed fire from the galleys threw the front of 
the column into confusion. The places of those 
who fell being instantl}) supplied by others, it 
still moved on, until it reached a redoubt, where 
the contest became more fierce and desperate. 
C :ptain Tawse fell in defending the gate of his 
reJcubt, with his sword plunged in the body of 



270 FALL OF PULASKI. 

the third assailant whom he had slain with his own 
hand, and a French and American standard was 
for an instant planted on the parapet; but the 
assailants, after sustaining the enemy's fire fifty- 
five minutes, were ordered to retreat. Of the 
French, six hundred and thirty-seven, and of the 
continentals and militia two hundred and forty- 
one were killed or wounded. Immediately after 
this unsuccessful assault, the militia almost uni- 
versally went to their homes, and Count D'Estaing, 
re-embarking his troops and artillery, left the 
continent.* 

When the engagement was at its height, the 
brave Count Pulaski, with tAvo hundred light 
horse, endeavored to enter the town so as to at- 
tack the British rear. He charged with great 
speed at the head of his troops, and might have 
succeeded had he not received a fatal wound. 
When his men saw him fall, they were terror- 
stricken, wlieeled about and retreated in great 
confusion. How many Marylanders were slain or 
wounded in this unsuccessful assault we have no 
means of knowing. But history informs us that 
they were there and performed their part on that 
memorable day. 

Early in the spring of 1780, Washington saw 

that there was a necessity of a larger force in the 

Carolinas ; he therefore made arrangements to 

send troops from Maryland and Delaware there. 

* Holmes' Ameiicaa Annals. 



GATES APPOINTED COMMANDER. 271 

He also called out the militia of Virginia and 
North C;irolina, Baron de Kalb, an eminent 
German officer, who from the love of liberty had 
identified himself with the Americans, was placed 
in command of these forces. Soon after this, 
General Gates was appointed by Congress com- 
mander of the whole southern army; then of 
course De Kalb was obliged to act under him. 
Gates' march southward was so slow that he did 
not reach Camden in South Carolina until the be- 
ginning of August. Lord Kawdon, the com- 
mander of the British forces, had drawn liis army 
together at that point. Cornwallis at this time 
was at Charleston. And so soon as Rawdon 
heard of the approach of the Americans, he sent 
word to him, when he immediately set out to 
form a union of his forces with those of Rawdon. 
This being accomplished, Rawdon determined 
to commence operations against the Americans. 
Gates had also purposed to move upon Rawdon. 
Accordingly, after dark, on the fifteenth of 
August, both generals, with their amies, moved 
towards each other for the purpose of an attack, 
and both were ignorant of each other's move- 
ments or design. They met before daylight, and 
commenced the engagement in the dark. As 
nothing effective could be accomplished without 
light, they ceased firing and waited for the morn- 
ing. At early daybreak the battle was renewed. 
The British regulars made a terrible charge, with 



272 DEATH OF BAEON DE KALB. 

fixed bayonets, upon the raw and inexperiencv^d 
Virginia and Carolina militia, and put them to 
flight. The Maryland and Delaware troops ex- 
hibited more courage, and fought more bravely. 
Several times their fire was so hot as to compel 
the British to retire, and it seemed as if they 
were on the way to victory. But after the militia 
was dispersed, then the whole force of the enemy 
was concentrated upon these two corps, upon 
whom they poured such a terrible shower of 
balls, as to make them waver, and when the 
troops of Cornwallis charged them with fixed 
bayonets, they yielded, and commenced to flee. 
Colonel Tarlton, seeing this, charged upon them 
with his calvary, and cut them up with great 
slaughter. Baron de Kalb exerted himself on 
this occasion most heroically to prevent the loss 
of victory, but after receiving eleven w^ounds, he 
died. As the Maryland forces were in his corj)S, 
they had a share in the most sanguinary part of 
the battle. The death of Baron de Kalb was 
greatly regretted by the soldiers and by the 
country generally. The American Congress or- 
dered a monument to be erected to his memory 
in the city of Annapolis. This was done, and the 
Marquis de Lafayette laid the corner stone. The 
following is its iuscri^jtion : — 



MONUMENT TO BARON DE KALB. 273 

' Sacred to the memory of 
THE BARON DE KALB, 

Knight of the royal order of merit, 

Brigadier of the armies of France, 

and 

Major general in the service of the United States * 

of America. 

Having served with honor and reputation for 

three years, 

He gave a last and glorious proof of his 

attachment to the liberties of mankind 

and the cause of America, 

In the action near Camden, in the state of 

South Carolina, 

On the 16th of August, 1780, 

Where, leading on the troops of the Maryland and 

Delaware hues against superior numbers, 

and animating them by his example to deeds 

of valor. 

He was pierced with many wounds, and 

on the 19th following expired in the 48th year 

of his age. 

The Congress of tlie United States of America, 

In gratitude to his zeal, services and merit, 

Have erected this monument. 

Another engagement in which the Maryland 
soldiers fought Avith bravery and honor is called 
the battle of the Cowpens. At first the tide of 
the battle was against the Americans, and the 

18 



274 BATTLE OF THE COWPENS. 

British, supposing that the day was theirs, pressed 
on after the retreating foe with speed and some 
disorder. When the Americans halted they were 
not more than twenty yards from their pursuers. 
Colonel'Howard tlien gave the order for them to 
turn and face the enemy. They did so instantly, 
and poured at once into their whole line a volley 
of balls. Tliis unexpected warm reception threw 
them into great confusion. When Howard saw 
this, he perceived that it gave a favorable oj^por- 
tunity for another demonstration, so he imme- 
diately ordered his regiment to charge witli the 
bayonet. So soon as the British saw the flashing 
steel points coming to them with such speed, they 
were terriiied, and fled from the field. Howard 
and Washington pressed after them until they 
captured the artillery and a great part of the in- 
fantry. It was a decisive victory, and cost the 
Americans less than eighty men in killed and 
wounded. Marshall says, " Seldom has a battle 
in which greater numbers were not engaged, been 
so important in its consequences as that of the 
Cowpens. By it Lord Conwallis was not only 
deprived of a fifth of his numbers, but lost, so far 
as respected his infantry, that active part of his 
army, which, in the species of war about to be en- 
tered on, is most useful to those who possess it, 
and most terrible to an enemy. Had the issue of 
the engagement been such as wns to have been 
expected from the relative strength of the two 



BA'iTLE OF EUTAW SPEINGS. 275 

detachments, and Morgan's corps, like that of 
Baford, been cut to pieces, it is impossible to say 
what consequences would have resulted to the 
Southern States." 

The battle of Eutaw Springs w^as another of 
the most important fought on Southern soil. On 
the morning of the eighth of September, the en- 
gagement was opened in a woods, where the two 
advance parties had met. The Americans 
poured in their shot so fast that the British began 
to give way. Now the cavalry dashed upon their 
rear, driving before them the British horsemen 
and foragers and scattering the infantry like leaves 
before the wind. After these were dispersed, 
another corps of the British were met, and the 
battle was renewed. The artillery of both armies 
was now brought into action, and whilst the op- 
ponents of each were falling beneath each other's 
fire, both armies got themselves into full battle 
array, and then the fighting became general. 
One corps followed another into action, until 
nearly the whole of both armies were engaged. 
A portion of the American militia, being in ad- 
vance of the other troops, drew upon themselves 
two regiments from the British center, who, after 
a short, shar]) sti-uggle, compelled them to retreat. 
Then they rushed on to the American left flank, 
flushed with enthusiasm at their recent success, 
but the force which was stationed here under 
Lieutenant Colonel Henderson received the shock. 



276 FUEIOLS riGHTtXG. 

as the rock-bound coast receives the shock of the 
foam-crested billows ; and as the rocks roll back 
the waves, so did Henderson's troops roll back 
their flushed and hopeful enemies. They poured 
into them volleys of iron hail with such rapidity 
and deadly effect as prevented further advance, 
and restored the battle, which had previously 
seemed to be going in favor of the British. En- 
couraged by this heroic and successful conduct 
of Henderson's brave boys, General Green ordered 
up the center of the second line, which was under 
the command of General Sumter, and directed it 
to move into the chasm which was made by the 
retiring militia. At the word of command, on 
came the center with loud huzzas. The battle 
now became fiercer and bloodier than before. 
Men were falling, killed or wounded, at every 
volley. Such destruction could not continue 
long. In a short time the British at this point 
were driven back to their old position: Lieuten- 
ant Colonel Stewart, the English commander, now 
hurried up the infantry, which were waiting in- 
actively in the rear of his left wing. These fresh 
forces increased the fury of the fight. "The con- 
flict was then terrible. Regiments were sweeping 
along under galling fires; the hot sun was beam- 
ing and dancing over thousand of bayonets, and 
helmets and sabres; cavalry were thundeiing 
from rank to rank, the sheaths of the dragoons 
ringing across the field, while the ground, air, and 



GREAT SLAUGHTER. 277 

woods rocked with the riishings of angry thou- 
sands, the rattUng of musketry, the loud roaring 
of cannon. The plumes of officers were leaping 
here and there between the volumes of smoke; 
charge after charge was crushing scores to the 
earth ; and the love of life, the strong universal 
tie, was suspended in the whirlings of passion." 
General Green, observing how close was the en- 
gagement, and that a trifle more weight on either 
side would determine the victory, determined 
upon a sharp, quick, decisive movement. He or- 
dered the Maryland and Virginia troops to the 
front. They responded to the order with loud, 
enthusiastic shouts. They had been listening in- 
actively to the firing of others long enough. 
They were burning for an oj^portunity to render 
some service in securing the fortunes of the day 
themselves. They opened fire upon the enemy 
like the blast of a volcano. Hundreds fell before 
them. Whole companies were so thinned by 
their bloody execution as to be reduced to mere 
skeletons. The British line began to waver, 
when Major Majoribanks, seeing the peril, brouglit 
up his battalion of grenadiers, ordered them into 
action, and thereby strengthened the line and pre- 
vented it from being put to flight. But Green 
being determined on victory, called up one of his 
regiments and directed it to attack Majoribanks ; 
and then galloping rapidly along the lines, he or- 
dered them to charge. Instantly the firing on 



278 AMEEICAN TEIUMPH. 

the side of the Americans ceased, tlie bayonets 
were fixed, and the Avhole line moved forward to 
the charge. Terrible volleys aimed at their faces 
were poured into them. Many fell at every fire. 
Still they faltered not, but pressing on, gained 
every moment increased nearness to the foe. 
Lieutenant Colonel Lee now observed that the 
American line was longer than that of the 
enemy, that one end was beyond their flank. He 
ordered a company to turn that flank. This 
being done, the enemy were attacked in front and 
rear — in front by the bayonet, on flank by mus- 
ketry. Cold Steele on one side of them, and hot 
shot on the other, they could not stand. Their 
line was soon broken, and then they fled in every 
direction, leaving their camp a prize to the Amer- 
icans. But though they gained the day, there 
were two unfortunate events which prevented 
the victory from being as full and complete as it 
otherwise would have been. Lieutenant Colonel 
Washington, who had been ordered to oppose 
Majoribanks at the time he came into action, be- 
came with his regiment involved in a marsh 
where he could move neither one way nor an- 
other. As this marsh was near the route taken by 
the British, he was exposed to the fire of their 
retreating forces. Many of his ofiicers and men 
were killed, his horse was shot under him, and 
liimself taken prisoner, after being wounded by a 
bayonet. One half of his troops were destroyed. 



LEE RETllEATS. 279 

Another sad event was that when Lieutenant 
Colonel Lee had possession of all the roads which 
commanded the retreat of the British, a corps that 
ought to have sustained him failed to come up, 
and when it was sent for could not be found. If 
It had made its appearance, much more injui-y 
would have been inflicted upon the enemy, and 
probably some regiments would have been taken 
prisoners. But in consequence of the failure of 
this corps to show itself, Lee was obliged to re- 
treat, and sacrifice the splendid advantage which 
he had gained. This gave the English'' Colonel 
Stewart opportunity to restore his broken line 
and renew the conflict. By this movement he re- 
gained his captured camp, and took two Ameri- 
can cannon. If Colonel Washington had not 
been entangled in the swamp, and had the last 
corps come up at the proper time, it would have 
been an undisputed American Victory. But as it 
was, both parties claimed the day, though the ad- 
vantages were entirely on the side of the Ameri- 
cans. The losses on both sides weva unusually 
great. One-flfth of the British and one-fourth 
of the Americans were killed and wounded. 
The enemy made sixty prisoners, all wounded, 
and the Americans about five hundred. Such 
vv^as the battle of Eutaw Springs, and in it the 
Maryland troops bore an honorable share. 

The war between Great Britaiu and the colo- 
nies was continued seven years, when England 



280 AMERICAN INDEPEXDENCE. 

saw the hopelessness of subduing them, and then 
acknowledged their independence. From the 
first, Maryland took a decided position in favor 
of the colonies, and firmly maintained it to the 
last. 



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Chemical Game. By Alice M. Guernsey. Price, 
25 cents. 

3. QUOTATIONS. A Shakespcrian Game. By 
Alice M. Or'ERxsEY. Price, 25 cents. 

Tlie List two named are strictly educational, prepared 
for the " Cliautauqua Literary and Scientific Circles," 
and have the endorsement of Dr. J. H. Vincent, 
Superintendent of Instruction, and others. 



The Interstate Publishing Company, Chicago ajid Bostoji. 

WONDER STORIES OF SCIENCE. ByEEv. 
D. N. Beach, Amanda B. Harris, Mary Wagkr- 
FiSHEK and others. Avery entertain ing- and instruct- 
ive book for grammar schools. It contains graphic 
descriptions of the manufacture of newspapers, um- 
brellas, fish-hooks, dishes, etc., and sketches of visits 
to a lighthouse, a saw-mill, gas-works, glove-factory, 
etc. It is beautifully illustrated, and printed in the 
best school-book style. 384 pages. Price, $1.25. 

LITTLE FOLKS OF OTHER LANDS. Stories 
in large type about the ways and plays of children 
abroad. Second Reader Grade. Cloth, 75 cents; 
hoards, 50 cents. 

WHEN I WAS A LITTLE GIRL. By Mrs. 
r. A. Humphrey. Stories and pictures of child-life 
for young readers. Both this and the preceding are 
used in all the Boston schools. Cloth, 75 cents; 
boards, 50 cents. 

THE STORY OF SOLDIER FRITZ. Trans- 
lated from the German l)y Prof. J. C. Pickard, and 
" yoemi," translated from the French of ]\Ime. dc 
Girardin by ]\Iiss Lucy Wheelock. Two stories in 
one volume, suitable for Third Reader Grade. (In 
press.) 

RED LETTER STORIES. Translated from the 
German by Miss Lucy Wheelock. A delightful vol- 
ume for supplementary reading. Price, GO cents. 

ENTERTAINMENTS IN CHEMISTRY. By 

Harry W. Tyler. Written in the Boston Institute 
of Technology, by an enthusiast in chemical work, 
this little volume places within easy, reach of young 
people a very interesting set of chemical entertain^ 
ments, with full, easy, but thoroughly scientitic ex- 
planations. Price, GO cents. 



The Interstate Publishmg Company^ Chicago and Boston. 

THE PROGRESSIVE SUPPLEMENTAL 
DICTIONARY. Edited and compiled by the JIt. 
Rev. Samuel Fallows, A.M., D. D. A complete 
supplement to all tlie leading dictionaries. It pre- 
sents the only means by which owners of Webster's 
or Worcester's dictionary can procure the nearly 
85,000 words, phrases, and new deflnitions to old 
words, and over 400 new illustrations, not found in 
the latest editions of these standard works. It is 
prof/ressive in its design, as supplements containing 
all the new words, etc., that may appear in the sev- 
eral new dictionaries now being compiled, or the re- 
visions of the present standard dictionaries, and such 
others as may come into current use, will l)e issued 
from time to time, in sheets or bound, and supplied 
to owners of the Supplemental at a nominal price. 
Tlie work is indorsed by leading educators, and is an 
indispensable adjunct to all unabridged dictionaries. 
It is uniform in size of page and style of binding 
with Webster's Unabridged, and contains 530 pages. 
For sale by all booksellers, or sent post paid upon re- 
ceipt of price. Sheep, $3.75; half morocco, $4.50. 

MONTHLY REPORT CARDS. Samples of vari- 
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suitable for graded or ungraded schools. The " Chi- 
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of recitations and on the other a montldy report to 
parents. Mailing prices, 50 cents to .$1.00 per 100. 

SCHOOLROOM GAMES AND EXER- 
CISES. Compiled and edited by Mlss Elizabeth 
G. Baixbridge. No primary or intermediate teaclicr, 
or teacher in a country school, should be witliout 
this book of amusement and instruction. It aftbrds a 
most valuable fund of material for the relief of a 
tired school. {In press.) 



The Interstate Publishing Company, Chicago and BostOK, 

FOR SUPPLEMENTARY 
READING AND LIBRARIES. 

PLYMOUTH AND THE PILGKIMS ; or 

Incidents and Adventures of the First Settlers. By 
Joseph Baxvard, D. D. Illustrated. Price, ,$1.25. 

THE STORY WITHOUT AN END. Trans- 
lated from the German of F. W. Cai>v()\t5, by J. C. 
PiCKARD. Suitable for Fourth-Reader Classes. Price, 
10 cents. 

LITTLE PEOPLE : THEIR DOINGS AND 
MISDOINGS. By I\L\te L. Brown. Suitable for 
Second-Reader Classes. Price, 10 cents. 

FIRST EXPLORERS OF NORTH AMER- 
ICA. By Joseph Banvard, D. I). Illustrated. 
Price, $1.25. 

OLD SCHOOL DAYS. By Amaxba B. Harris. 
Very fully illustrated. An artistic monograph of a 
vanishing phase of American country life, photo- 
graphing country schoolhouses, country teachers, and 
country children, and old modes of teaching, old 
school books and old games. The entire volume is 
pervaded with a delicious humor. Price, 60 cents. 

TALES OF THE PATHFINDERS. By Arthur 
Oilman. Illustrated. Price, 75 cents. 

NATURAL HISTORY, Cats, Dogs, and Yellow 
Birds. Three volumes. By Ernest Ingersoll. 
Bound in boards, Illustrated, 64 pp. each. Third or 
fourth Reader Grade. Price, 25 cents. In one vol- 
ume, cloth, 75 cents. 



THE INTERSTATE READERS. 



A carefully graded and beautifully illustrated 
series of 

MONTHLY READERS 

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS. 

PRIMARY. 32 pp. and cover. 30 cents for 10 numbers ; 
$2,00 for 100 numbers. 

INTERMEDIATE. 32 pp. and cover. Stories and 
sketches by the best authors. 30 cents for 10 numbers ; 
$2.00 for 100 numbers. 

GRAMMAR SCHOOL. 48 pp. large quarto and cover. 
The matter contained in this Reader consists of instruc- 
tive and entertaining sketches of history, travel, biog- 
raphy, science and literature, all adapted to pupils of 
twelve to fourteen years of age or older. 15 cents per 
number; $1.00 for 10 numbers; $2.00 for 25 numbers; 
$7.50 for 100 numbers. 
Each of the above magazines will be published monthly 

during the school year. Each one is beautifully illustrated. 

They may be subscribed for monthly in quantities, or by 

the year, and will be sent by mail postpaid. iYo discount 

from prices given. Samples free. 

THE INTERSTATE PRIMER. This new book con- 
tains 140 pages, beautifully illustrated. Price 25 cents. 
Written by Miss Ellen M. Cyr, a teacher in the public 
schools of Cambridge, Mass. Specimen pages may be 
seen in each number of the Primary Reader. 



Cl^e 3nterstate publisl^ing Company, 

BOSTON: CHICAGO: 

80 Franhlin Street, 183, 185, 187 Wabash Ave. 

(6) 



